Darkening
by skca54
Summary: Dave's Dad is dead - murdered by Frank D'Amico's goons. Dave swears revenge on the D'Amico family and insists on teaming up with Hit Girl. Will the partnership workout? Will Dave avenge the death of his father? An alternative universe story based on the original Kick-Ass movie.
1. Darkening

**Authors Note: **_This story has been written in response to a challenge by another writer: 'adm-frb'. This will be my ninth (published) story._

**_Synopsis:_**_ This story is based on the original Kick-Ass movie and moves into an alternative universe from the point where Hit Girl is shot by Red Mist, and Kick-Ass and Big Daddy are kidnapped. After Hit Girl kills everybody at the warehouse, she witnesses the death of Big Daddy and rescues Kick-Ass. As they leave the warehouse they stumble upon another body, this one not killed by Hit Girl. The body is that of Dave's father and his throat had been cut, possibly during Hit Girl's attack. Dave swears vengeance on Frank D'Amico and insists on helping Hit Girl assault the D'Amico penthouse. Hit Girl gratefully and with some surprise, accepts Dave's offer. The attack on the D'Amico penthouse is carried out in line with the movie and Hit Girl and Kick-Ass return to the Safehouse. Mindy is a few months shy of thirteen, while Dave is fifteen._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Safehouse A<em>**

Dave was different somehow.

We had just watched the sunrise, over New York. It had been a long night and I now had a new friend – actually not so much a new friend, as an only friend. We both seemed to have some things in common, some of which were not enviable, in any way! We had both lost our only remaining parents, last night. I had at least managed to speak to my Daddy, before he died. Dave, well he just found the corpse of his Dad, with his throat cut.

Dave had even volunteered to come with me to assault the D'Amico penthouse. That had been a major surprise; I needed him and I had expected to have to bribe or blackmail him into helping me. Before we had left this very Safehouse, last night, Dave had sworn vengeance on everything D'Amico. He was determined to avenge the death of his father. On our return, he had not said much since I had told him my true identity, only minutes before.

Now, I had some thinking to do. What would happen next? I had just finished reading the letter that my Daddy had left, in case anything should happen to him. It told me to contact his ex-partner Marcus Williams and to place myself in his care and that I should obey him implicitly.

I got up from my bed and walked out of my bedroom. I was still wearing my Hit Girl costume, minus my mask and wig. Dave was sitting on the floor, with his back against the wall, his mask in his hands.

"What are you going to do?" Dave asked, looking up at me through sullen eyes.

I had expected sadness and it was there, in his eyes, but I also saw defiance.

"I don't know. I'm supposed to hand myself over to the man that raised me, till I was five. There will be no more Hit Girl," I replied.

Dave stared at the mask in his hand for another minute.

"You can't give up being Hit Girl... I need your help."

"My reason for being, the reason why my Daddy created Hit Girl and Big Daddy. I was created to kill Frank D'Amico. He is now dead, thanks to you. My 'mission' is technically over."

"I'm sure your Daddy would want you to continue – there are more D'Amico's out there. I – I need you to train me – I need to be able to fight like you."

I smiled and then laughed.

"You want to be 'like me'? In your fucking dreams Ass-Kick!" I responded, then regretted it.

"I want to be as good as you... I want to join your team - you know like Batman and Robin..."

"Nobody wants to be Robin."

"What's wrong with Robin? Weren't you like Big Daddy's Robin?"

I laughed.

"Okay, Robin wishes he was me!"

"What I'm trying to say is that we should be partners. You and me..."

"I'm in the NFL, Dave – you, well..."

"So train me. I want to walk the walk and you're the closest thing I know to a real superhero. You no longer have Big Daddy to watch your back, like at Rasul's apartment and I need somebody to watch mine to!"

I started to respond, but had run out of excuses. Secretly I wanted to agree; I didn't want to give up on Hit Girl – not yet anyway. But Dave! Seriously! I know I'm good, really good, but am I _that_ good!

"Let's get the fuck outta here. Marcus knows about this place and he'll know by now that Daddy's dead. Now that Safehouse B is history, I think we need to work our way down the alphabet!" I suggested and started pulling off my Hit Girl costume.

"I am going for a shower and then, I think, you should too, Dave."

A thought came to me.

"You can use some of my," I faltered for a second. "Daddy's clothes. In there."

I pointed to Daddy's room before going into the bathroom.

* * *

><p>I watched as Mindy went into the bathroom and closed the door.<p>

I painfully clambered to my feet and walked towards the room that Mindy had indicated. I picked up some sweat pants and a top from Big Daddy's room, half expecting Big Daddy to walk in and kill me on the spot. Just the thought of that man sent giant shudders through me. Big Daddy seemed the type of guy that would come back and haunt anybody that got anywhere near his daughter - then again his daughter was quite capable of looking after herself, thanks to him!

My life had now been turned well and truly to shit, Dad was gone and gone for good. I still had absolutely no idea how he had ended up in that warehouse, dead! Nobody knew that I was Kick-Ass, except for Katie and Mindy. My mind was like mush and refused to function correctly. I would have to think things through properly, once my mind started working correctly.

I heard the bathroom door open and Mindy appeared, she was dressed in what seemed to be normal 'girl' clothes: a mixture of purple and pink - no surprise there! The pig tails were still there, though; she must have liked them. She looked quite cute; definitely not what I would normally expect a bad-ass assassin to look like!

"Your turn, ass."

It was hard to tell when she was fuckin' with me and when she might actually hurt me!


	2. Thoughts

**_Safehouse C  
>Saturday<em>**

"How many of these places do you have?"

"A few..."

I watched as Mindy punched an eight-digit code into a hidden keypad, beside a steel door that led from an alley that ran alongside and behind a decrepit looking warehouse. The door clicked open and I followed Mindy inside. We climbed two flights of stairs, before we stopped at another steel door. Eight digits later and the door clicked open. The room inside was dark; what was Mindy leading me into?

Mindy didn't seem to be worried; she went straight in and I heard some switches being thrown and a large room was suddenly visible, as the lights came on.

"Get the fuck in here, ass!"

I moved into the room and let the door click shut behind me.

..._...

In front of me was a large room.

The main central feature was a large exercise mat, with a support pillar on each corner. To my left was a combination kitchen/diner, with a couch and a pair of desks with twin computers, as per Safehouse A.

"That door on your right, it leads to the bathroom and two bedrooms; mine is the pink one!" Mindy said, with a smirk.

The wall in front of me was just like the walls at the other Safehouse. There was every conceivable weapon in evidence. We had brought very little with us from the other Safehouse; just clothes for Mindy and a small selection of important weapons, including Mindy's bō-staff that I had seen her use to dispatch Rasul and his minions, only a few short months ago.

What was I doing? Was this right, teaming up with a young girl, despite her being a bad-ass assassin? I was jerked from my thoughts, as sunlight burst into the room. Mindy had triggered the steel shutters that had covered each of the three large windows at the end of the room.

"So, what next?" I asked.

"We need to get ourselves sorted out, move what we need from Safehouse A and ensure that we are both safe, then we can start with the rest of our lives," Mindy said, with a grimace.

"Are you okay?"

"My back is a little sore."

"You want me to check it for you?" I asked, tentatively.

"Might be a good idea!" Mindy said and she took off her jacket and pulled up the back of her t-shirt.

"Christ, Mindy!" I blurted out.

"What?"

"Your back is purple and bruised to hell!"

"Well I was blasted out of a window and dropped a dozen feet!"

"What other injuries do you have?" I asked with concern.

"Nothing major, I've had worse, believe it or not. I have bruises on my chest from the three bullets, but you're not seeing them!" Mindy said, with an almost embarrassed look and she went slightly pink. "What about you?"

"I actually have had worse!" I grimaced. "Bruises in places that I care not to mention and that I am definitely not showing _you_!"

..._...

We spent the rest of the day getting the Safehouse habitable; it was very dusty, having not been used in a while. We also did some shopping to get some fresh food in. We kept to the seedier portions of Brooklyn, to keep ourselves away from any potential trouble. If anybody asked, Mindy was my little sister. We hadn't decided on what to do with our identities yet, Mindy said that she could 'erase' Dave Lizewski – whatever that meant!

It was expected that somebody would find the dead bodies, at the warehouse, along with my Dad's body too. That would result in Police visiting my house at some stage. For now, we needed anonymity and at least I didn't know anybody in Brooklyn! I worried about what Marty and Todd might be thinking. They would probably be looking for me, to discuss the events of last night. But I dare not contact them, not yet.

My thoughts also drifted to Katie. She, at least, knew about Kick-Ass and me. What would she be thinking!

* * *

><p><strong><em>That evening<em>**

It was a strange feeling.

This time yesterday, I was being beaten to an inch of my life and I never knew that my Dad was only feet away from me, and probably still alive! I had never felt so low, as I did at that point. Every time that Dad came to my mind, I started to feel rage inside me and the lust for vengeance. I had started to think about how I had got here and how my Dad could have got to the warehouse. A lot of shit was passing through my mind in an every lasting circle of shit.

I was dreading tonight – my first night with nobody, except of course for Mindy.

I sat on the couch, watching Mindy pounding away on the computer and started to wonder what was going through her mind, right now.

* * *

><p>It was a strange feeling.<p>

This time yesterday, my Daddy was being beaten to death and I was battling to save his life and the life of Kick-Ass, which at the time had been a very secondary objective!

I was dreading tonight – my first night with nobody, except of course for Dave. I was determined not to show any weakness in front of Dave.

I may only be twelve, but I was still the boss!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Brooklyn<em>**

Life sucked, big time!

I always got left in the damn car every time my Mom went to visit somebody. Yeah, she's a Doc and has to treat people and they need their privacy, but leaving me in the car all the time!

Mom says it's just a phase that I am going through and it'll pass in a few years. Great, I can't wait!

Hello! What's going on over there? I had noticed some activity over by a large red bricked warehouse type place. It was past nine in the evening and you don't normally expect to see two masked people lugging equipment up an alley. Mom would be busy for a while, so I decided to investigate.

I slipped out of the car and moved closer, being careful to keep to the shadows and out of sight of these two strange looking people. I got to within about eight feet of them, they were arguing.

"I forgot the damn code!" The taller one, dressed in green was saying.

"For fuck's sake, ass!" The much shorter one, in a purple outfit, retorted angrily. "Two – four – four – three – two – three – three – nine!"

The taller of the two punched in the numbers to a concealed keypad, a door clicked open and the two of them vanished.

That was weird! Who were those two?

* * *

><p><strong><em>That night<em>**

I had fallen asleep on the couch, but was awoken by a movement beside me.

"Would you give me a hug? My Daddy just died!"

It was Mindy and tears were streaming down her face. This was definitely unexpected, but it occurred to be that she had nobody else - just like me!

We only had each other.


	3. The First Day

**_The following morning  
>Safehouse C<br>Sunday_**

"Mindy?" I asked, shaking her awake.

Mindy's eyes came open quite suddenly and she stared up at me, then jumped up from where she had been cuddled up next to me.

"What was I doing there?" She asked in horror.

"You came through last night and said that you needed a hug," I explained.

"I did!" Mindy looked horrified.

"Mindy, it's not a sign of weakness to feel emotions."

"I – I need to pee!"

Mindy rushed off towards the bathroom and I thought she looked rather embarrassed!

* * *

><p>What the fuck did I do last night?<p>

I could not believe that I woke up cuddling into Dave! How embarrassing!

But then I remembered the loneliness that crept up on me last night and then when it swept over me and I burst into tears; I felt ashamed and I missed my Daddy.

I remembered needing somebody, I couldn't bear to be alone and the only person that I had, had been Dave.

So much for not showing weakness in front of Dave; I was appalled with myself!

* * *

><p>Mindy reappeared from the bathroom, still in her pyjamas.<p>

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yes – and last night never happened!"

"Mindy..."

"It – never – happened!" Mindy stated, then smiled. "But thanks!"

"Moving on then..." I said dryly.

* * *

><p>We left the Safehouse after breakfast and went out for what Mindy called a brisk stroll!<p>

This actually turned out to be almost a run, but as my legs were longer than Mindy's, I managed to keep up, despite the pain in my muscles.

"You do remember that I was almost beaten to within an inch of my life, just over a day ago?" I wheezed.

"You said you'd had worse!" Mindy responded, not easing up on the pace.

"Well, you've probably seen the online video of me?"

Mindy nodded and slowed up a bit.

"That was Kick-Ass two point zero!"

"So what happened to the first Kick-Ass, then?" Mindy asked.

"Well, I, err, tried to take on these two guys that were trying to break into a car, but it kinda went to shit and I was stabbed in the stomach," I explained. Mindy stopped and turned to me, her eyes wide in surprise. "I tried to get away, but then I was hit by a car..."

Mindy just stared at me and then she burst out laughing and fell to the ground!

..._...

"Yes, it was so fucking funny!" I said sarcastically.

"I'm – sorry – it's just – so funny!" Mindy said, in between fits of laughter.

"I'm glad I've cheered you up, bitch!"

"Come on, it is kinda funny!"

"If you stop laughing for a minute, I'll tell you the rest."

Mindy forced herself to stop laughing, which seemed to be quite an effort for her. Finally she stared up at me, sitting on the ground, but still smiling.

"Well, you see – I err, had to ask the ambulance guy to promise not to say anything and to dispose of the costume, so I was only in my shorts, when I got to the hospital. Well, this got people talking and they thought that I had been... You know... Raped!"

I could tell that Mindy was trying, desperately, not to laugh!

"After I was fixed up, I spent the last few months with people thinking that I was - well... Gay!"

This was too much for Mindy and she literally fell over laughing and tears were pouring down her face. After a couple of minutes the laughter seemed contagious and I started to laugh too! I supposed that it was kinda funny and _I_ would have laughed if it had happened to somebody else!

* * *

><p>"Look, I'm really sorry... I couldn't help it!" Mindy said, as we sat eating a burger each.<p>

"I'll forgive you... Just this once, but you've got to tell me something funny about Mindy Macready!"

Mindy screwed up her eyes in thought and then looked a little uneasy.

"Well?"

"I was eight and I ignored Daddy's advice and I – well - I got shot in the ass!"

I couldn't reply, as I almost choked on a chunk of burger, in my throat. Once it was gone, though, I burst out laughing and Mindy went pink.

"I didn't think it funny; it hurt like hell and was a real 'pain in the ass' when it came to using the bathroom! Daddy laughed himself stupid and only stopped when I punched him. I was livid, but he told me to get a grip and enjoy the funny side! I've still got the scar – and before you ask, I'm not showing it to you!" Mindy said, going even pinker with embarrassment.

I was still laughing, so couldn't respond.

"Okay, Hit Girl isn't perfect, plus you saw me fuck up at Rasul's and almost get stabbed!"

"Yeah! I did; which is why we need each other - you can protect me and I can stop you getting shot in the ass!" I said and started laughing again.

Mindy just scowled at me.

* * *

><p><strong><em>New York City<em>**

I'd just found out who those two strange people were, from last night.

I thought they had looked familiar. I had watched that video that was doing the rounds.

In Brooklyn, last night, it had never occurred to me that I was watching the real Kick-Ass and the '_shows over motherfuckers_' girl!

I knew where they hung out!

I knew the code!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Brooklyn<em>**

I left the cab a block away from the red brick building and approached on foot.

Did I dare go through with this?

I ran over to the building and stopped beside the door, where I had seen Kick-Ass and that other vigilante, last night. I found the keypad and punched in the code that I'd overheard and the door clicked open.

I paused for a second and then entered the building.

* * *

><p>I was too late.<p>

I had entered the 'safehouse' and it was obvious that Mindy had run. I could see evidence of a hurried departure; there were drawers hanging open and empty, which was a good sign that she was gone!

I had seen Damon brutally beaten, the other night, but was overjoyed that Mindy was alive. I had assumed that the young girl that had appeared at the end of the video had been Mindy, as Hit Girl.

I missed her greatly and I would have loved the chance to see her again, but at least she was alive, somewhere – maybe with that green guy, Kick-Ass.

Hopefully they could protect each other.

I would never give up searching for her, never.

* * *

><p>I climbed the stairs, slowly.<p>

Any second now, I expected to be discovered. I was scared, very scared.

Come on Chloe, you can do it!

The first floor had been empty; just a large open space. The second floor was the same, but the third floor had a long corridor that ended at a window, however, there was a steel door a few feet from the stairs. Beside the door was another concealed keypad.

I took a deep breath and punched in the same code, then after what seemed like an hour, the door clicked open.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Safehouse C<em>**

"That was actually an enjoyable day!" I said, truthfully.

"You know, I think I envy you..." Mindy said.

"Why would you envy _me_?" I asked, incredulously. Hit Girl envying shit for brains Kick-Ass!

"Your pain threshold. I'm in considerable pain, after today – especially after all that laughing! You, though, seem fine and you've had no fucking training, _at all_!"

"Useful, huh!" I replied, as we stopped outside the door on the third floor.

Mindy punched in the code and I pulled open the door. We were still talking as we entered, but then Mindy froze and I followed her gaze.


	4. Intruder

**_Safehouse C_**

She looked like the proverbial rabbit in the car headlights!

It was a girl, a young girl of about twelve and a little taller than Mindy. She was obviously scared and knew that she had been caught with her hands in the cookie jar!

Mindy had only frozen for a few seconds, but then she flew forwards and I saw a glint of metal in her right hand, as she flipped open a Balisong and headed towards the girl. I had to stop her – killing grown men who killed for a living, was one thing, but a young girl…

"Stop!" I yelled and ran after Mindy.

By the time I caught up Mindy had the girl pinned to the mat and there was a Balisong to her throat. The girl had tears on her cheeks and looked petrified; she was shaking. I could also see her eyes flicking from me to Mindy and back again, rapidly. She looked confused.

"What are you doing here?" Mindy hissed.

"I – I – I saw you two, last night and I heard you read out the code to him. I – I was stupid…"

"Oh, yes, very stupid! So stupid that you're gonna die for it!"

"No – please!" The girl begged.

* * *

><p>I suddenly felt myself being grabbed around the waist and I was lifted off of the girl!<p>

I twisted around and glared at Dave.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

"You're not gonna kill her." It was a statement, not a request or a question.

"You can put me down now, before I break your fucking arms!" I growled.

Sensibly, Dave put me down. I glared at the girl, cowering on the floor in front of me. She looked to be about my age, but taller. What should I do with her? I should kill her and dispose of her body, but Dave has gone squeamish on me! Blast men apart with Gatling guns, blast a man out of the window with a fucking bazooka, no problem! Kill a girl – no chance!

The girl has seen our faces; she knows who we are and she knows where our Safehouse is! If that dozy asshole hadn't forgotten the damn code, last night, then none of this would be happening! On the other side of the coin, I should have been keeping a better eye open; after all, I was the professional here, not fucking Ass-Kick! He can't be blamed for anything; I'm supposed to be training him, because I'm the famous Hit Girl!

"Get up!" I growled to the girl.

* * *

><p>The girl stood up, shakily and still looked petrified.<p>

I was trying to look mean, but failing miserably!

"You obviously know who we are, but who are you?" Mindy asked.

"I – My name – Chloe Bennett."

"Hello Chloe Bennett!" Mindy responded.

The girl was still looking scared as Mindy still looked like an alligator examining its prey. Finally, Mindy flipped the Balisong closed and Chloe breathed an audible sigh of relief and in fact, I did too!

Mindy scowled at us both.

"What are we gonna do with you?" Mindy asked, with an ominous smile.

"Let me go!" Chloe said, hopefully, with a forced smile.

"Fuck!" Mindy shouted, making Chloe jump.

I laughed, which just made Mindy glare at me, so I stopped, quickly.

"You live, for now. One word, just one syllable, about us – you die!" Mindy said, flipping open the Balisong for extra emphasis.

"Thank you, err, what do I call you?" Chloe asked.

"I'm Hit Girl and you probably know that _he_ is Kick-Ass!"

"Wow! Nobody knows your name – you're just '_shows over motherfuckers_' girl!" Chloe said.

I grinned at Mindy, as she smirked.

"You can trust me, I won't tell anybody, I promise!" Chloe added. "Can I come over to see you, sometimes?"

Mindy thought for a moment and laughed.

"Yeah, just don't let yourself in, in future. There's some dangerous shit in here!" Mindy said. "Anyway, the code will be changed!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Atomic Comics<em>**

"I'm worried about Dave!"

"We all are, Marty. He's not at home and his Dad's never in. Dave doesn't have a phone right now, as his got pinched!" Todd replied.

"I can't get hold of Katie, either. There's no reply at her house; she must have gone away with her folks!" Erika said.

"Maybe Dave and Katie went off together!" I said, with a smirk.

"One track mind, you!" Erica said angrily.

"I can't believe that Dave missed all that shit the other night! He'd have loved it, especially that girl, at the end!" I said.

"Must have had something more pressing to do. Maybe he was forced into doing something else," Todd suggested.

"I need a drink!" I said and got up.

* * *

><p>I couldn't believe that had I got out of there alive!<p>

Damn, I almost pissed myself, several times! That Hit Girl is seriously scary, despite being shorter than me! I needed to calm down, before I went home, so I decided to head into Atomic Comics and read for an hour.

I went in and almost bumped into a geek with glasses.

"Sorry!" I said, as he headed for the counter.

"No problem!" He replied, but otherwise ignored me.

That was my life; everybody ignored me. I had only been twelve for about a month and I had nothing with which to attract boys, but Mom assured me that I would grow some breasts eventually!

I was still suffering a bit from my exposure to Kick-Ass; I was a big fan and had read a lot of the comics. Maybe I could get his autograph!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Safehouse C<em>**

We had both showered and cleaned ourselves up, after the morning's exercise. Mindy had decided to drop the pig tails and just let her blonde hair hang naturally.

"Well that could have gone worse!" Mindy said from the couch.

"Yeah!"

"We need to up our game here; we almost crashed out less than two days into it!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's get outta here!" Mindy suggested.

"I want to go see somebody!"

* * *

><p>"You remembered to change the code?"<p>

"Yes, ass!" Mindy replied. "Who are we gonna see, anyway?"

"My girlfriend, Katie."

"What?" Mindy replied, dragging me to a stop. "You're supposed to be avoiding people you know!"

"Only two people on this earth know that Dave Lizewski and Kick-Ass are the same person and I'm looking at one right now!"

"Oh! Katie would be the other one?"

"Smart girl!"

Mindy smiled smugly.

"I suppose somebody could have got to her and forced her to tell all she knew," I said.

"It would kinda explain what we found, at the warehouse!" Mindy admitted.

* * *

><p>It had been a rather harrowing sight – even for me!<p>

I had just killed a dozen men or so, but even I was shocked when we had come across a body that was lying on a wooden pallet, with a pool of fairly fresh blood spreading across the floor beneath the pallet.

At the time I knew that it wasn't _my_ body. I remember every kill I make and that body had not been one of mine. The throat had been slit from ear to ear, just about. The man had struggled too, evidenced by blood on his hands, as he fought in vain to stop the blood gushing from his body.

Then Kick-Ass had suddenly exclaimed: "Dad!"

I had had no choice but to hurry him out of there. It would not have done him any good to stand over the dead body of his father – he was dead, period.

* * *

><p>When we got to Katie's house, it was getting dark.<p>

Strangely the house had no lights on, none at all. All the neighbouring houses had at least one light on, which made the difference stand out, at least in my trained mind. I reached behind me, into the small of my back and pulled out a .38 Glock 28 sub-compact pistol. We walked around to the side door. Dave peered into the kitchen window and I saw him jump back.

"Oh God! They're all dead!"


	5. Training

**_Katie's House_**

"Oh God! They're all dead!"

I took one look at Dave and reached for my lock picks, holstering my pistol. Once I had opened the door I turned back to Dave.

"Don't touch anything!" I warned, glad that we were both wearing gloves.

In the kitchen was a body, a gunshot to the head and lots of blood on the floor, at least a day old. We moved through, into the dining room and then into the living room, where there were two more bodies; head-shots and blood, just like the body in the kitchen.

Dave ran upstairs and went through the bedrooms, then he appeared downstairs, a strange look on his face. It was a combination of joy and dread!

"Katie is not here!"

"We need to leave!" I said, as forcefully as possible.

* * *

><p>Once we were a block or two away, I pulled out my cell and dialled a certain number.<p>

"Sergeant Williams!"

"Bodies..." I growled and gave him the address.

Marcus repeated the address back and then paused, before speaking again.

"Mindy?"

I almost dropped the damn cell, in shock!

"You have your information, Sergeant, I suggest you act on it!" I growled, once I'd regained my composure and then dropped the connection.

* * *

><p>I smiled to myself, as I called in the tip.<p>

She was still alive!

Stay alive, stay safe, Mindy, please!

* * *

><p><strong><em>One week later<br>Saturday  
>Safehouse C<em>**

Most of our bruises had healed.

So now the training could start.

I had expected it just to be Dave, but Chloe had appeared twice, since last weekend and now she was here again! I had to admit that I enjoyed Chloe's company, it was good to have a girl to talk to, especially a girl that was my age, well almost. Chloe was one month past her twelfth birthday, whereas I was two months short of my thirteenth. The age gap was close enough that I could ask her questions about what Dave called: 'girl stuff'!

I had asked Daddy about 'girl stuff' before and he usually quickly changed the subject. I had even asked him when I would start to become a woman; get breasts and stuff. Yeah, at that point it had all still been 'and stuff'! Daddy had got rather embarrassed and the next day he had dropped a couple of books onto my bed that had something to do with girls and puberty! I had to admit that I found the books more than a little distressing and I wished that I had somebody that I could talk to about what was happening, or about to happen to me. Now I did!

Apparently Chloe's Mom was a doctor, so Chloe knew all about everything, in detail, which was both disturbing and useful! I had to admit that after talking with Chloe I was dreading puberty! For now though, while I started training Dave, I sat Chloe down and handed her an unloaded Glock 17 pistol, for her to dismantle. I had considered a _loaded_ pistol, but that might have left rather a mess! Should keep her out of trouble for an hour or two!

..._...

Dave actually looked apprehensive!

He was wearing an old t-shirt and shorts. I was wearing a sports top and shorts. We were both bare foot.

I faced off with Dave, on the mat.

"Hit me!"

"You're a twelve year-old girl..."

A slap rang out across the Safehouse and Chloe span around from the table.

"What the..." Dave tried.

Another slap rang out and Chloe laughed.

"Act like a bitch, get slapped like a bitch!" I goaded.

"You _hit_ hard, you know!" Dave said and I smiled smugly, but then he smirked. "But you slap like a little girl!"

I heard Chloe take a sharp intake of breath.

"You're gonna pay for that, Dave – in blood and sweat!"

"Bring it on, bitch!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Twenty, very long, minutes later<em>**

Okay more thinking, less bravado!

Oh the pain, the pain!

Mindy stared down at me with an evil smirk on her face.

"You ready for round two, bitch?" She asked.

"You are _so_ fucking evil!"

"You don't know the half of it!"

* * *

><p>"Okay! How have you done with the Glock?"<p>

"I've managed to put it together again!" Chloe said, dubiously.

I picked up the pistol and then looked at the left over pieces! These included a spacer sleeve and the firing pin spring!

"What about those pieces?" I asked.

"The pistol went back together okay!"

I proceeded to load the pistol.

"So, let's just say that you've left out some important safety components and someone should accidentally insert a loaded magazine and then happen to chamber a round and then aim the pistol at your forehead!"

Chloe's eyes went wide as I did exactly that! I pulled the trigger and nothing happened...

"You know Mindy, you would make a great cure for constipation!" Chloe announced, heading for the bathroom.

When Chloe returned, I told her to put the pistol right!

* * *

><p>I fell to the mat, as Mindy delivered a second roundhouse kick.<p>

"This, is amusing to you, isn't it?" I groaned from the mat.

"Just a _little_!" Mindy said, with a broad smile and then she laughed.

"I can't believe that I'm letting myself get beaten up by a fucking twelve year-old girl!" I moaned.

"Can't hack it, Kick-Ass?"

"If you can, I can! Bring it on purple menace!"

* * *

><p>Chloe had finally reassembled the pistol correctly, so I sent her home.<p>

This meant that Dave and I could settle down for the evening and get something to eat. This had been a problem for the past couple of days, as usually Daddy had cooked and I had absolutely no idea what to do; yes, I was spoilt! I could manage the microwave and make toast on a good day, but that was my limit! Dave, though, seemed to have some talent in the kitchen, if not for being a vigilante!

This meant that we weren't gonna starve, at least not anytime soon. We sat down to a very nice pizza that tasted really good, especially after all that exercise, this afternoon.

Another question came to mind: Transport. We couldn't move around on foot all the time, neither could either of us drive, well I could – just not legally and Dave thinks it very funny, but a girl my age tends to stand out, when driving! The best option would probably be motorcycles, as the helmets added a nice layer of anonymity to the rider.

I would need to put my mind to work on that!


	6. Wreckage

**_Two days later  
>The D'Amico Penthouse<br>Monday_**

The place had looked like a squad or two, of US Marines and assaulted the place!

I had never seen so many bodies in one place before. Most of them had been shot, except for a few men at the exit to the private elevator; they had been killed with a knife, and another seemed to have blown his own brains out!

I honestly could not believe that we had not found any bodies from the people who had attacked the Penthouse. Attacked may not be the proper word, assaulted was far more accurate, hence the thought about the Marines!

The men downstairs had each received a single killing gunshot, except for one that seemed to have been shot in the mouth! The men seemed to have willingly let their killer into the reception area as there was no sign of a forced entry.

Unfortunately, there was evidence of who had attacked the Penthouse. None of the other Police Officers wanted to believe it, but I knew that it had been Hit Girl, or rather Mindy! In the elevator had been a small suitcase, with various weapons and what looked like a school girl uniform. I assumed that Mindy had used this outfit to con herself through the security downstairs and then she had coldly shot each and every man that she had come across!

There was no sign of Frank D'Amico, but there was a smashed window, a bazooka and reports of a loud explosion! The crime scene investigators had been here all week and now the place was almost clear, but the blood and bullet holes were still much in evidence. How the hell had that girl made it out alive? Did I owe Mindy's life to Kick-Ass? She did rescue him after-all!

All I could think of, right now, was that Damon had done his job well, maybe too well! But he had given her all the skills that she had needed to stay alive!

..._...

Now we came to the other crime scene - the one that had been filmed.

The film actually helped a lot with the forensic work! Lots of men, shot and stabbed. I vividly remembered watching the video playing live that night, seeing Damon beaten and then burnt! Somehow Mindy had pulled it off without getting herself killed. Yes, Damon had died, but with his dying breaths he had seemed to be guiding Mindy through her attack. I had no idea if Mindy actually got to talk to Damon before he had died, but she did rescue Kick-Ass. They then took down D'Amico!

There was a strange addition to that scene, another body that had had its throat slit. It was some way away from all the others and I was certain that Mindy had not done it. We had identified this body and then found that this man had a son, Dave Lizewski. However no trace could be found of the boy, who we understood was about fifteen. I seriously expected him to be found dead, somewhere else, in a few days. Their house had been empty and nothing had been touched. The boy was just gone!

We had spoken with his friends at some comic shop, they had all seemed completely shattered by the news.

..._...

I got a 'well done' from my Lieutenant for calling in another crime scene! It was a family, all dead – shot to death. It seemed that there was a daughter missing. Could it be related to the missing boy, with the dead father? There is still more investigation work underway and we should know something soon.

My thoughts were with Mindy as I headed home at the end of that shift.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Monday evening<br>Safehouse C_**

The truly sadistic young girl that I am now living with has finally finished driving me into the ground, at least for now!

I am completely exhausted, but she barely breaks a sweat! Now she's gazing at an enormous motorcycle on one of the computers. I will admit that the motorcycle looked totally awesome, but I thought that Mindy was getting a little ahead of herself. It was funny enough seeing her drive an enormous Mustang, but a Ducati Panigale sport bike!

"You know, I don't think those come with stabilisers!" I commented.

Mindy froze and I saw her shoulders tense, but then subside. She took a deep breath before answering.

"That was actually quite funny! I'll let you off _this time_!" Mindy laughed.

"I know you're a little touchy about your, err, height, but I think you'll need to grow at last a foot first!"

"A girl can dream!" Mindy said then changed the webpage.

"That's a little more realistic!" I commented.

We were now looking at the Honda website.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Atomic Comics<em>**

We were all completely devastated.

A Cop had appeared at the comic shop and asked us questions about Dave. Apparently his Dad was dead and Dave was missing! To top it off we also found out that Katie's family was all dead and _she_ was missing, too!

I secretly hoped that it had all been some crap plot thought up by some warped writer, but that didn't pan out, so we just sat there staring at the table, completely numb with the shock.

At least I had my Marty to cuddle up with!

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following day<br>Tuesday  
>New York City<em>**

I was on solo patrol, this morning and parked up on East Houston Street.

"Hey, Officer!"

I looked across the car and rolled down the window on the passenger side. Standing beside the car was a short girl, with long blonde hair.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Got something for you!" The girl said and passed me a white envelope.

"Who is this from?" I asked.

The girl gave me a piercing stare before responding.

"Me!"

The girl ran off and vanished from sight. A strange feeling came over me. I looked down at the envelope. It had one word on it, written by hand: _Marcus_. My hands started to tremble as I ripped open the envelope. Inside was a single piece of folded paper. I unfolded it and saw that it was a hand written letter. I felt a pang of emotion as I recognised certain letters as being very similar to how Damon had written them.

_Dear Marcus_

_As you can see I am alive and well._

_I have a few bruises from the other night, but I am otherwise uninjured. Please do not attempt to find me; I still have a job to do in this city._

_I am not alone, I have somebody to guard my back; as somebody else once did. I wish that I had been able to get there a few minutes earlier, so I could have saved him, but fate is fate and I must now move on with my life._

_I will stay in touch, Marcus and let you know that I am safe and well. You may even see me from time to time, but please don't contact me, or use my name when I am working!_

_Look after yourself._

_Love Mindy_

My hands were really shaking now and I could feel tears in my eyes. I had just seen Mindy! I felt joy inside me, just knowing that I had actually seen her standing not three feet away from me. The sheet of paper had three small letters in the bottom right corner: _PTO_. I turned the letter over.

_Almost forgot: Maybe you can be my Commissioner Gordon!_

I had to smile at that!


	7. Equipment

**_Four days later  
>Saturday<br>Riker's Island_**

"It has been confirmed, Boss!"

"He is dead?"

"Err, 'obliterated' was the word used, Boss!"

"The guard force?"

"Wiped out, every last one of them..."

"My nephew?"

"He survived, but was beaten up..."

"Where is he?"

"With his mother at the beach house."

"Who?"

"We don't know – it must have been a large force, but we know it wasn't NYPD..."

"Find out! I want them dead, understand me – DEAD!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Safehouse C<em>**

Mindy seemed somewhat confused this morning.

"What am I doing?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"I – I don't know. I'm having second thoughts about this…"

"About what?"

"This…"

"You, sense, making not!"

"I…"

"…have lost the ability to make any form of sense?" I asked.

"No… Yes…"

"It's one way… Once it's gone it's gone…"

"What's gone…?" I was losing it faster than Mindy was!

"You on something? Been sniffing gunpowder?"

"You don't sniff gunpowder, you ignite it!"

"Should I just go back to bed and start the day again?"

"Maybe…"

This had gone far enough! I grabbed Mindy and shook her.

"What the fuck are you raving about, girl?" I demanded.

"I'm trying to decide whether to dye my hair," Mindy said.

"Are you fucking nuts? Strike that; I know the answer already: fucking yes!" I said. "I'm gonna go bang my head against a brick wall; you've stopped almost all my brain activity!"

* * *

><p>"You back to normal now, or are you still a raving lunatic?" I asked an hour later.<p>

"I'll go with the first choice."

"How fast does a hand-gun bullet travel?"

"Seven hundred miles per hour!"

"That's about as normal as you're gonna get!"

"Thanks, ass!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>That afternoon<em>**

"Okay green asshole, we need to get you geared up. That wetsuit just 'ain't gonna cut it in the real world. Plus you need something more than those batons," Mindy said, walking around me, while I stood there in my Kick-Ass suit, minus the mask.

I didn't say a word, but just let my eyes follow Mindy as she walked around the Safehouse examining items that hung on the walls and then she vanished into a store room for a few minutes before reappearing with several items in her arms.

Mindy dumped her armful of items onto the floor, then rummaged through them before pulling out what looked like a vest of some sort, similar to the one that she wore as Hit Girl.

"Put this on, underneath your suit and I would advise wearing something under the vest, like a t-shirt," Mindy said, finally.

I took the vest and unzipped my wetsuit, pulled on a t-shirt and then the vest, which had Velcro attachments at the side to hold it in place. I the zipped my suit back up; it was a little tight!

"Could be worse!" Mindy said dryly. "Now try this."

Mindy helped me strap on a shoulder holster. The pistol would hang horizontally under my left arm, so that I could draw it across my body, with my right hand. There were two pouches on the right for spare magazines. The rig was black and made from a strong webbing material.

"You'll get the pistol when I'm certain that you won't shoot me with it, accidentally or otherwise!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>The next day<br>Sunday  
>Safehouse C<em>**

"This is a Glock 17 Mod 4 semi-automatic pistol, chambered in nine by nineteen millimetre Parabellum, seventeen round capacity," Mindy rattled off.

"Cool!" I said, not fully understanding half of what she had just said.

Mindy then continued to explain how to check that the pistol was safe, by removing the magazine and ensuring that the chamber was cleared. She took me through some dry firing to ensure that I could operate the pistol safely. She was very patient with me and never snapped or yelled at me. Mindy was very serious when she was handling firearms and I listened to her instructions, as I knew that my life could rely on them in the future.

"You're doing well, Dave," Mindy said with a smile.

"Thanks. You're a good teacher, Mindy," I replied and Mindy actually blushed!

Next Mindy fitted a suppressor to the threaded barrel of the pistol and then handed me a loaded magazine.

"That magazine has eight rounds, not the full load, but still enough for a practice."

She led me downstairs and directed me to an area near the back wall that had obvious bullet holes visible.

"Now, insert the magazine, fully… Good! Next pull back the slide and release it, let it go, don't push it forward or you may cause a jam. Keep your right hand in place, or the slide might catch your hand as it moves forward… Good!"

"The weapon is now loaded and a round is chambered. You see the indicator beside the ejection port that I showed you earlier. It has been pushed out, so you can both see and feel that a round is chambered. Now bring the pistol up and aim it at a point on the wall. Gently squeeze the trigger, don't pull it..."

The weapon fired with a muted crack that echoed in the open space and the bullet impacted the wall sending chips of brick flying.

"Normally it would sound a lot louder, without the suppressor, but we don't want to scare the neighbours!" Mindy said with a smile. "Go ahead, empty the magazine. You have seven rounds left."

I aimed and squeezed the trigger seven more times, sending more brick chips around the room and the slide locked back on the empty magazine.

"Now clear the weapon!" Mindy instructed.

I ejected the magazine and confirmed that it was empty and then released and pulled back the slide, checking that the breech was empty. Finally I pulled the trigger with the pistol aimed at the floor. The pistol clicked and was now safe.

"Well done!"

We headed back upstairs.

"Now I'm gonna be firing the Glock 26, chambered the same as your Glock 17. I need the sub-compact pistol as my hands are small… Don't laugh!" Mindy said. "You have big hands so you can use the full size pistol."

"I would never laugh at you, at least not while I'm in the same room!"

Mindy scowled.

"You know, you look quite cute when you scowl!"

Mindy went slightly pink and almost dropped her pistol, but recovered quickly.

"Err – right - err. Both of our pistols are Glock pistols and are chambered the same. This means that we can share ammunition and magazines. Both pistols can technically take a thirty-three round magazine. This would be bulky in your pistol and a damn sight ridiculous in mine. You're not supposed to put something big into something small - but then size isn't everything…"

"Isn't it?" I interrupted with a smirk.

"… No… Stop interrupting me…" Mindy trailed off blushing furiously.


	8. Thirteen

**_Two weeks later  
>Saturday night<br>New York City_**

I was on Solo patrol again and it was very late.

I had just climbed into the car, after checking out a broken window, when the far door opened and a green form climbed in.

"We need to go somewhere private!" Kick-Ass advised.

"If you say so!" I replied and pulled into traffic, before heading for a quiet part of town, where I pulled over in a dark and deserted spot.

I turned off the ignition and looked at the vigilante sitting beside me.

"So, you are Kick-Ass! I suppose I have you to thank for keeping my girl alive."

"She's a very special girl," Kick-Ass said.

"I'm glad we're on the same page. Now, before we go any further: How is Mindy? Really, I mean..."

"She's, well, Mindy... She's tough as nails and swears like a trooper, but she's at the top of her game and fighting fit. She misses her father, but she's coping with it, in her own way!" Kick-Ass replied.

"Thank you for being candid with me; I miss Damon, too! You're Dave Lizewski, aren't you?" I asked, but before he could answer, I continued. "You don't have to answer that. I know that you are with Mindy to protect her and her you. I will take your secret to the grave, have no fear."

"Mindy trusts you, Sergeant Williams, and so do I. Now I have a few more questions, about Mindy..."

* * *

><p><strong><em>A little over three weeks later<br>December 3rd  
>Wednesday<br>Safehouse C_**

I went into Mindy's bedroom, where she was still fast asleep and nudged her awake.

"Happy Birthday, Mindy!"

Mindy blinked a few times, getting used to the sunlight that streamed in through the skylight. Then she came fully awake.

"What! How the hell did you know about my goddamn birthday, asshole?"

"You know, I was kinda hoping that the teenaged Mindy might have mellowed, just a little!"

Mindy sat up in her bed and laughed.

"Okay! But, seriously, how did you find out about my birthday?" Mindy asked excitedly.

"Maybe this might give you a clue," I said and passed over a large envelope.

Mindy looked at me curiously, then proceeded to open the envelope and she pulled out a large birthday card. She opened it and then almost dropped it in shock. Her eyes were tearing up, too. She said nothing, but just passed the card over.

I opened it and read the hand-written message inside.

_To a very special young lady, on her birthday_

_I wish you every happiness for your birthday and your entry into your teenage years._

_Your Daddy would have been very proud of you, as am I._

_All my love_

_Marcus_

I smiled at Mindy and she smiled back.

"Thanks Dave!" Mindy said. "I should yell at you for meeting with Marcus without telling me, but..."

Mindy scrambled out of her bed and gave me a big hug.

"You mean a lot to Marcus and I know that he means a lot to you," I said.

"I hate to admit it, but you are absolutely right!"

"Come on, get dressed and we'll go get breakfast. My treat!"

* * *

><p>Yes, I was a little mad at Dave going behind my back, but he did it for the right reasons and I loved that card from Marcus.<p>

It was actually a great feeling, being a teenager. Now that we were both teenagers, it at least made things sound a little better! We have made huge progress in training and Dave is actually proving me right. I said that he had potential and he has it - tons of it!

I had decided that it was now time to put Dave to the test and to ensure that I hadn't lost any of my skills. I had actually never been fitter and neither had Dave.

* * *

><p><strong><em>That evening<em>**

It was very dark and very cold.

I liked the dark, but wasn't too crazy about the cold! This costume of mine was actually not the best for keeping out the cold and I wrapped my cape around me for warmth. Kick-Ass though, he had a thick wetsuit that actually proved very good for insulation; lucky cunt. I was actually tempted to ask for a cuddle – to share bodily warmth only!

It had been a while since I had been on the streets and I needed to build up my knowledge and intelligence of the area. Things would have changed in the two months or so, since I had last been out on the streets. Many criminals might have thought that Hit Girl was no more – were they gonna get a surprise!

I trusted Kick-Ass implicitly. He was now quite strong and his stamina was high. He was also very good with the Glock pistol and almost always hit what he aimed for. Not as good as me, but then nobody was!

..._...

Finally, some prey arrived!

I silently signalled Kick-Ass to move to the other side of the alley. I had my bō-staff up and ready and Kick-Ass drew his batons – we still hadn't replaced those!

There were three men talking together, around a barrel that had a fire burning in it and providing a little warmth to their 'office' that night. They were the usual low level, drug dealing scum that plagued New York at night. I despised them and I always had, but they proved useful as a form of income. They generally dealt in cash, which was useful for vigilantes like us; bullets and guns didn't come cheap, especially not the good stuff, plus I had one or two projects on the go that needed cash and I didn't want to raid my emergency stash too much.

We shielded our eyes from the glare of the fire. The three men did not and their night vision would have sucked, big time. But, as I had taught my new friend, we used the enemy's weaknesses against them and turned them to our advantage. Although Kick-Ass wasn't quite as ninja as me, he did pretty well at keeping quiet.

We approached from both sides of the alley. The burning barrel was between us and the men. There would be no way that the men would be aware of our approach. Or so I thought; neither Kick-Ass, nor I had seen the dog, snuggled up close to the barrel!

..._...

The dog barked and barked loudly.

One man moved away from the barrel and raised a pistol, Kick-Ass dived forward and brought a baton down, hard, on the man's wrist. The cracking sound seemed to indicate that the wrist had been broken and the man screamed. The dog leapt towards Kick-Ass, who punched it in the side of the head and the dog fell to the ground with a whimper, before struggling back to its feet.

I ran forward and drove a blade of my bō-staff deep into another man's chest, I started to remove the blade and spin to drive the opposing blade into the other man, when a gun was fired and I felt myself flying backwards with an enormous pain growing in my chest.

I came to, lying on the ground and could hear gunfire. Above me I could see green; Kick-Ass was protecting me and I could see his Glock raised and he was shooting at the remaining men. I could see the dog, dead, on the ground a few feet from me. Blood was oozing from a bullet hole in the dog's skull. Finally the gunfire died down and silence reigned.

"Are you okay?" Kick-Ass asked, looking down at me. I could see deep concern in his eyes.

"I'll live, I think!" I replied, breathing was difficult. I felt Kick-Ass unzipping my jacket and running his bare hand under my Kevlar vest, but on top of my t-shirt.

"No blood. Your vest stopped the bullet!" Kick-Ass sounded relieved. "Let's get outta here!"

Kick-Ass helped me to my feet and we moved away from the alley and headed back towards the Safehouse.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Safehouse C<em>**

"That could have gone better!" I commented, examining my Kevlar vest – it was ruined. It must have been a heavy round that had impacted me and from close range.

"It saved your life!" Dave said, indicating the vest.

"Twice! But now it's junk. You shot them didn't you?" I asked rhetorically.

"The dog and the first and third man. Your man died instantly. Your bō-staff is over there," Dave said.

I was glad that I hadn't lost my bō-staff – that would have been a disaster!

"I also got this," Dave said and threw over a small bag that contained a few thousand dollars, in cash.

"Well done! The whole point of that little exercise. Now I need to swallow my pride and let you check my chest..."

I pulled my t-shirt up and off, grimacing with the pain and fighting back the tears.

"Christ Mindy!" Dave said.

"Is it bad?"

"Very, very, purple! Does it hurt really badly?"

"Only when I laugh!"

"Well, don't laugh then!" Dave said.

I couldn't help it, I laughed and then groaned and lay down on the couch. I didn't care that I was topless in front of Dave; but Dave didn't seem to notice, he just laid a towel over my chest and started to untie my boots.


	9. New Year, New Problems

**_Five weeks later  
>Monday<br>Safehouse C_**

Here we were in a fresh new year.

The fifth day of January had dawned, cold and wet. But we were happy, within the nice warm Safehouse.

I think I had made Marcus' New Year; I had called him up at two minutes past midnight.

"Hi Marcus! Happy New Year!"

"Mindy! Happy New Year! It's so good to hear your voice! You two okay?"

"Yes, we are, I promise!"

"Stay safe!"

It was just a little thing, but it made me feel good and I think Marcus enjoyed it, too!

* * *

><p>Dave was working on the bars, as he usually did each morning and pulling himself up – on his own! This was a big change from a couple of months ago when he barely lifted himself a couple of inches off of the ground! Now he could even do it one handed! There was a problem, though – I enjoyed watching him exercise!<p>

Dave had gained some muscles, quite a few actually and I would regularly see his stomach and each time I caught sight of his now, well-formed, abs I got this weird feeling around my stomach and... Let's not go there! I was actually starting to get embarrassed when I saw him without his top on! How stupid could I get; he's Dave for fuck's sake and more than two years older than me and I didn't even have tits yet!

I spoke to Chloe about my feelings and she just laughed and said that it was perfectly normal. Apparently, there were certain boys and people on TV that resulted in _her_ getting 'very excited', as she had put it, but didn't explain any further! I had resorted to the internet to gather some much needed knowledge on what was going on inside of me, but I then discovered that certain words typed into a search engine, returned some very undesirable, although intriguing, results that made me blush – quite badly! Not to mention that I panicked if Dave came near me while I was on the computer - in case he saw anything that I didn't want him to see. I understood that it was all to do with hormones and mine were, apparently, raging!

Did I 'fancy' Dave? Not knowingly, but subconsciously... Again, let's not go there! Obviously, Dave had no interest in me; I had nothing to offer him - _at all_! I was even tempted the other week to peer in on Dave, while he was in the shower, but chickened out at the last second. Why did I even try? What possessed me? I didn't know, curiosity maybe?

While Dave's body does look very appealing, me? If Dave ever saw me naked, he would probably just laugh! For some reason that thought gave me the desire to put it to the test and let Dave see me naked... My mind was very disturbed that week!

Despite Chloe being younger than me, she was further ahead in development than I was and she actually had breasts, almost non-existent, but still bigger than mine! She was quite happy to show me them, which I found more than a little disturbing and thankfully she didn't show me anything else!

I was no stranger to the male anatomy and I had seen a man's 'equipment' before and I had actually cut one off, once! I never really got shy or embarrassed about seeing that sort of thing, not until now!

Normally Dave and I aren't usually too bothered about privacy. He often saw me in just a towel or in knickers and a t-shirt – hell, he's even seen my bare chest, which has as many bumps as an ice rink! He often only wears shorts and a t-shirt, but sometimes during training he dumps his t-shirt. It never occurred to me to be shy or embarrassed - besides if Dave tried anything I'd kill him, so I didn't need to worry about _that_! But I knew that Dave would never do anything like that to me. He cared about me, at least I liked to think so.

* * *

><p>Dave had completed his motorcycle training and had his Junior Motorcycle licence, with the help of a high quality ID that made him sixteen!<p>

I was impressed, as he seemed to have a talent for riding a motorcycle! Now, I just needed to obtain a decent motorcycle for him.

Chloe had dropped another surprise on me, soon after my birthday. It turned out that she rode motorcycles and quite well, too. I had some experience, from riding a small dirt bike, years ago, but I was way out of practice and I was way too young to go on a State course as Dave had done. Chloe had the great idea of taking me along to a club that she was a member of – they ride motorcycles off-road – a kind of motocross thing. I spent two weeks in December re-learning how to ride, with Chloe's help. I managed to add a few more bruises to my pre-existing collection, but did quite well, I thought.

Dave was impressed and he came along to each ride and from the third visit he started to ride, to build up his skills off-road. I was annoyed that Chloe was better than me, so persevered to improve! It was also great fun and I enjoyed racing Dave and Chloe. Dave usually won, but that would change...

I finally ordered a motorcycle for me, a small framed Honda. Dave insisted that he wanted to order his own motorcycle, so I left him to it. I had a feeling that he would get some dumbass piece of shit that would be completely useless!

* * *

><p>"Dave – am I strange for wanting to see a boy naked?"<p>

"What the fuck?" Dave asked, in response to my completely out of the blue question.

"Never mind!" I said.

"Puberty, huh? Does strange things to your mind!"

"Tell me about it!" I replied.

* * *

><p>Mindy was behaving strangely, but I put it off to her growing up.<p>

Take the other day as an example.

...X...

I had just come out of the shower and was wrapped in a towel. Mindy was watching a movie.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Top Gun!"

"Wow, that's an old film! Wouldn't have thought that was your thing!"

"I have the need… The need for speed…"

"That makes sense, I suppose!"

"Besides, I love seeing them play volley ball in the sand, topless…"

I just froze.

"I'm gonna go get a shirt on!"

...X...

It occurred to me that I might have a problem.

I'd heard of raging hormones, but damn, these must be special Hit Girl hormones! Which probably meant that I was in for a world of hurt! I needed to find out how long puberty lasted in girls!

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following afternoon<br>Tuesday_**

I was out shopping and it had occurred to me that I should pick up some 'special items' for Mindy, as I had a feeling that she might need them at some point and it occurred to me that it might be better to be prepared!

I was standing in the store, with a pack of tampons in each hand. Which should I get?

"Dave?"

I turned around and found myself face to face with Marcus!

"How did you know it was me...?"

"I'm a Cop, Dave!"

Then Marcus looked down at my hands and laughed.

"Oh, you've got an entertaining time ahead of you! I've seen a normal girl through puberty and it was bad! Mindy, now that could be apocalyptic and I have to say: rather you than me, good luck Dave!" Marcus said and walked off chuckling to himself.

What the hell was all _that_ supposed to mean!

I grabbed half a dozen boxes of what looked about right and went to pay!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Two days later<br>Thursday_**

Turned out that I was prudent to be prepared!

"Dave!"

That sounded like a very worried Mindy!

"What?" I called.

"I – I need… Oh fuck!"

I got up from the couch and wandered toward the bedrooms as Mindy's shouting seemed to be coming from _her_ bedroom, but before I got there Mindy appeared and she looked pale.

"It's started!" She growled.

"Ah! Back in a minute!" I said and Mindy looked a little confused while I went and fetched one of the boxes that I had bought the other day.

"Should I read the instructions for you?" I teased, holding a box up.

Mindy gave me the scariest glare that I had ever received and I was _seriously_ worried about my health at that moment!

"Give me that you fucker!"

Mindy ripped the box from my hand and stomped off to the bathroom without another word.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Forty minutes later<em>**

"You okay?" I asked carefully, as Mindy reappeared looking awkward and somewhat embarrassed.

"That was kinda weird!" Mindy said.

"I'll take your word for that!" I said, with a smirk.

"It's not fucking funny! I've got another thirty fucking years of this shit!"

"Just what I want to hear!" I groaned.

"Thanks Dave!" Mindy said seriously.

"What for?"

"Getting those – things – for me," Mindy said, looking shy.

"You look after me, Mindy; so I'll look after you."

"Partners to the very end, Dave!"


	10. New Suits, New Wheels

**_Just over two weeks later  
>Wednesday<br>New York City_**

The snow was swirling in driving flurries and visibility was very low.

It was very dark, which added to the uneasiness that the four men felt while they kept watch in the alley. Their boss was late, very late and this just made them more uneasy; the boss was never late!

Finally, a form could be made out, coming through the snow flurries.

"Thank God, Boss! What happened to…?"

It was _not_ the boss! Actually, the boss was there, but he was being dragged by another man. Except this man was like nothing that they had seen before, at least not in real life. The man wore obvious armour and carried weapons. There was a pistol on his right leg and ammunition on his belt. The man dropped their boss and spoke.

"The easy way, or the hard way. The choice is yours!"

The four men looked at each other and eyed their pistols. But their choice was made for them as another, somewhat smaller, but similarly dressed form emerged from the swirling snow, a sharp blade in each hand and a vicious glare.

"Time to go!" One man said and the others all got up.

"You can leave those!" The man snarled as the men tried to take a pair of sports bags with them. The bags remained as the men ran for it, leaving their boss behind.

The man picked up one of the two bags and then turned to face the smaller form.

"Back to headquarters, Hit Girl!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Safehouse C<em>**

"Did you have to use that phrase?"

"I thought it sounded cool!"

"My Daddy liked to use it, but then he was a little nuts sometimes!"

Hit Girl stopped to look at herself in the mirror.

"This new suit is really cool and worked well, plus I think it shows off my curves!"

"What curves?" Kick-Ass asked, with a derisive laugh and received a scowl once Hit Girl had removed her wig and mask.

The new suit was very different from the original Hit Girl costume. Damon had designed the original costume as part of the 'big game' that Hit Girl had been at the time. Now, though, being Hit Girl was not a game. The 'game' had come to a sudden, screeching stop with the death of Damon. This new suit was for the ongoing, more serious Hit Girl – this was no longer a game, this was real life, so real protection was needed.

The suit was black and made from a composite stab resistant material that was flexible and fairly form fitting. The suit was made up of trousers and a zip-up jacket that joined to the trousers to form a single suit. The trousers came down to mauve leather boots, with armoured soles that covered the calves with an armoured panel that encircled the lower leg and came up to a few inches below the knees. The knees were protected by armoured pads that were again, mauve. Strapped to the right and left thighs were a pair of pistol holsters that each held a Glock 26 pistol. The holsters were suspended from a belt, which was purple in colour and was festooned with equipment, including four magazine carriers, and two pouches for other equipment, plus two thin pouches that held mini-suppressors for the two pistols.

The jacket had pockets at the front for four formed ballistic plates. The upper left pocket was embossed with the letters 'H' and 'G' in pink. Each pocket was purple and the heavy duty zip was protected with a vertical Velcro strip. The back of the jacket had three pockets that again held three formed ballistic plates and again the pockets were purple.

The shoulders of the jacket had similar armoured pads to the knees and were purple. These pads extended down the upper arm to just above purple armoured elbow pads. The hands and lower arms were covered with gauntlets that had armour on the back of the hands that extended over the wrist joint and up to the elbow. The gauntlets had composite armour for the palms and the front of the fingers. The rear of each finger was purple, while the gauntlet was black.

The neck was protected with a thick collar which was joined to a black cape that extended down to the knees. The head was covered with a purple wig and a form fitting mask around the eyes. The lower face was uncovered.

"It suits you, Hit Girl!" Kick-Ass said with pride.

* * *

><p>"As does yours, Kick-Ass!" Hit Girl replied, checking out the other suit from the feet up.<p>

He had black leather boots, with armoured soles. The boots extended up the calves to armoured and padded grieves on his lower legs. These were green with yellow highlights.

His knees were protected with green, armoured pads that connected to the lower leg grieves. The trousers were made of a synthetic material that was better than Kevlar. Each thigh was protected with extra light-weight armour that was green with yellow highlights.

The right thigh armour had a pistol holster mounted on it that held a Glock 17 Gen 4 pistol.

Around his waist was a yellow belt, trimmed with green and with four pouches on the left hip that held extra magazines for the Glock pistol. Behind these was another pouch that held a suppressor for the same pistol. The right hand side of the belt had three pouches for can-shaped grenades and further round was a scabbard for a fighting knife. At the rear of the belt was a general pouch for other items, including a first aid kit.

On the top half of his body he wore a zip-up jacket made from a synthetic composite material and the jacket was green, with yellow trim and was attached to the trousers with a zip. Covering each hand was a leather and synthetic composite armour gauntlet. The gauntlets were capable of seizing hold of double edged knives, without damage to the gauntlet or wearer. The palms were black and the fingers were green. The back of the gauntlets were black with yellow highlights and had lightweight ballistic plates that extended back to the lower arm protecting the wrist. The elbows were armoured and padded in a similar way to the knees and were green.

Each shoulder was padded and armoured, with the armour extending down over the upper arm. This was green with yellow highlights.

The neck was protected by a padded surround that did not inhibit movement. A chest and back plate were worn that joined together at the shoulders and fastened around the abdomen with Velcro. Both plates had green pockets with yellow trim, for formed ballistic plates, four each to the front and rear. There were additional attachments on the chest plates to allow for extra equipment. The top left of the chest plate was embossed with the letters 'K' and 'A', in yellow.

He wore a reproduction of his original mask, but this mask was made from a composite material, with extra padding. As before it was green, with yellow highlights and covered his entire face.

"I think that you may be right, Hit Girl!"

"Of course I'm right, Ass-Kick! Now, what did we acquire this evening?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following morning<br>Thursday  
>Atomic Comics<em>**

"You know, I had the strangest feeling the other day. I was certain that I saw Dave and he was in the, err, female toiletries section of the store! Maybe I need glasses," Erika said.

"Have you noticed that Dave was not around _that night_, but Kick-Ass was? Kick-Ass vanishes and so does Dave?" I asked.

"Marty, your imagination runs away with you sometimes!"

"Dave always wanted to be a super-hero! He sat in this very seat and said: '_How come nobody's ever tried to be a superhero_'? I know this sounds really stupid but... Could Dave be Kick-Ass?"

"Marty, we're talking about Dave Lizewski here!" Erika said, laughing at the preposterous suggestion.

Neither of them saw the short, blonde girl scowl and walk out of the comic store.

* * *

><p><strong><em>New York City<em>**

This had to stop!

My mind was preoccupied with Mindy, Damon and this Dave character. People have started to notice that I've been spending a lot of time looking into the murder of Dave's Dad and Dave's 'disappearance'. The case had been classified as cold and filed away, but I had other ideas. If I kept on this I was going to get into trouble, which would not be good!

A saving grace had been the stream of dead bodies or bound men, and bags of drugs that a 'mysterious caller' had handed to me! _I_ knew exactly who the 'mysterious caller' was that growled over the phone each time; Mindy! The Lieutenant and the Captain seemed quite happy just to accept the drugs that were coming off the streets and ignore where the information was coming from. They just put it down to a very good informant that I had! If they only knew that I was speaking with the perpetrator and that I knew exactly who it was!

* * *

><p><strong><em>That afternoon<em>**

"This another one of your hidden gems?" Dave asked dubiously.

"Not too sure about 'gem'!" I replied.

The 'gem' was an old, abandoned, car garage that my Daddy had obtained, years before, but never used. We had checked out both the area and the building. It had not been visited in years, but the alarms had never been activated and the security was apparently still intact. We entered the garage and checked the interior. No problems were found apart from a little damp and a lot of dust.

"This is Safehouse G!" I said happily.

"Love it!"

"Hey, drop the sarcasm!" I warned.

..._...

Outside the Safehouse were two large packing crates that had been delivered an hour ago, by a 'special courier'. The crates had been positioned so that their ends were against the garage door, which meant that we could unload them without anybody being aware of the crates' contents. There was no line of sight into the garage itself.

We opened the smaller crate first and I wheeled out my new motorcycle. Naturally it was purple and it was a small-framed Honda – okay I'm short, fucking get over it! The one hundred and twenty-five cc motorcycle was small and light which would be perfect for me! It had been modified to make it road legal with lights and the other required equipment.

On opening the other crate, I saw what Dave had bought and I was pissed! But, I was also impressed, very impressed! I was also _fucking jealous_!

"You fucking bastard!" I said.

"I thought it was a good buy!" Dave moaned.

"It's a fucking brilliant buy, Dave! I just wish that I was big enough to ride the fucker!"

Dave laughed.

"It's big enough for you to ride with me!" Dave said.

It was a Ducati Multistrada with a huge one hundred and sixty horsepower engine. The motorcycle was green, with yellow highlights and had monster Continental TKC 80 Twinduro tyres. On each side of the rear of the machine was a large black pannier for additional equipment. There was also additional protection for the engine and air intake. Dave had done this properly; I was really impressed!

"Did I do right?"

"Fuck, yeah! Well done, Dave!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following evening<br>Friday  
>Safehouse C<em>**

"So, what do you think?"

"I think it's good; it was past time!"

"Oh fuck!" Mindy said to herself, sounding annoyed and she looked up at me, her eyes were brimming with tears and she looked ashamed.

"Mindy, don't be ashamed; it's not a weakness - it is perfectly normal," I said quietly. "You don't know what normal is; but I can help you with that."

The tears started falling down Mindy's cheeks as she looked up at the picture of her Daddy that we had just hung on the wall. It wasn't much, but it was something and it obviously meant a lot to Mindy. I felt her grasp my hand and hold on tight, very tight! I could feel her shaking as she cried. I hoped that this would be some form of closure for her, but I knew that it probably wouldn't be.

We had hung the picture next to the picture of my father. I was holding back my own tears, similarly ashamed of looking weak in front of Mindy. But there was a time and place for bravado and this was not it.

I hugged Mindy as my own tears fell.


	11. Erika

**_One week later  
>Saturday<br>Safehouse C_**

I examined the large pile of throwing knives on the floor and then looked up to the empty target.

"Room for improvement!" I said, dryly, turning around and looking at Dave.

"Just a bit!"

"Look, not everybody is all wonderful, like me!" I grinned.

"You _are_ wonderful – I'll give you that!"

"Flattery gets you nowhere, ass! Well, almost nowhere!"

* * *

><p>Mindy seemed to be calming down, a little.<p>

I wasn't expecting miracles, but every little counted, at least for my own personal safety! When Mindy had written that letter to Marcus, last year, I had had to intervene to ensure that Marcus received a nice letter and not just a string of expletives, which kinda made up Mindy's first and second drafts!

...x...

"Hey, asshole! I don't have any fucking friends and I've never written a goddamn letter before! Give me a fucking break!" She'd yelled at me.

"I'm sorry, Mindy! Calm the fuck down! I just said that you should be a little more polite to the man that raised you for the first five years of your life!" I had replied.

...x...

That had been a different Mindy. Now she seemed to be a _little_ less 'hot-headed', at least outside of her Hit Girl persona – maybe she was starting to like me! She was also starting to behave a little bit more like a normal teenage girl.

Chloe was over and I had walked into the kitchen while they were discussing 'girl stuff', at least I assumed that it was 'girl stuff', as I heard words and phrases along the lines of 'period' and 'cup size' and 'boys' and 'bras' and at one stage they had both gone bright red and then started talking about something completely different!

Maybe Chloe was rubbing off on Mindy, in a good way.

..._...

On the other side of the coin I was a little worried that Mindy might have been rubbing off onto Chloe, in a bad way! Well, anything that Mindy had to offer _had_ to be bad, didn't it?

Chloe was caught with Mindy's bō-staff, the other day and Mindy had been a little annoyed.

"Hey! Put that down before you fucking kill yourself!"

"It's really cool! Have you killed many people with this?"

"One or two," Mindy had replied and Chloe had delicately put the bō-staff back down.

I vividly remembered when I had first met Hit Girl and seen her wield that damn bō-staff and slaughter every single person in that apartment, except for me! Me, I had almost died of a damned heart attack, watching her do her stuff without a moment's hesitation or any sign of a conscience.

Mindy still scared me, but only in the knowledge of what she could do - what she was capable of. I knew that I was safe and that she would never hurt me, at least not intentionally. I had actually found myself caring for the girl and she was good fun to have around. Yes, she had a rather warped sense of humour, but we seemed to get on well together and I found myself tolerating her strange and often violent behaviour.

One fun thing, though, was what Chloe had reported back after one of her visits to the comic shop. She had described two people discussing 'Dave Lizewski' and that the boy, in this case Marty, thought that I might be Kick-Ass. The girl, though, who was Erika, thought that that idea was totally preposterous. Chloe had a feeling that they were talking about me, so reported back. I thanked her for doing that and had a good laugh!

I was also enjoying our nights out on the streets, especially as I wasn't getting the crap kicked out of me, like usual! I was learning a lot and I mean a lot; I could shoot and I was getting better at Martial Arts and I had muscles for the first time in my life, which was awesome. On that subject I had also noticed Mindy checking me out, but Mindy would look away quickly, if I noticed. It was quite amusing actually – might she have a crush on me?

* * *

><p><strong><em>That night<em>**

We went out again, as we did most nights.

This time, though, was our first night out on two wheels! Mindy was a little unhappy not to use her own motorcycle, but we decided that it would be better to use the Ducati, so that we were riding two up. It was a good feeling driving through the dark streets of Brooklyn towards New York. I really enjoyed riding a motorcycle and it was great to be mobile and go where we wanted. We could also get out of trouble fast too!

* * *

><p>It was cool!<p>

I wasn't that amused to be riding on the back of a motorcycle, but it felt good and I enjoyed the ride and I also seemed to enjoy wrapping my arms around Kick-Ass! We both sported similar helmets. Mine was, guess what... While Dave's was green, with a yellow stripe. The visors were tinted and looked really cool.

Interestingly, we weren't attracting too much attention and _that_ was probably due to the many new and rather diverse 'superheroes' that were coming out of the woodwork! Most of these _wannabes_ were, frankly, downright amusing! At least this allowed the _real_ superheroes, such as myself, and I suppose Kick-Ass to stand out a little less, while we went about our vigilante affairs.

* * *

><p>Something looked interesting.<p>

We pulled over and parked the motorcycle in a dark alley. Hit Girl threw a tarpaulin over the motorcycle and we moved further into the alley. We had seen some men, who didn't seem to be out for an evening stroll! We moved closer, sticking to the shadows. Our new boots made moving silently, very easy, especially for a hunk like Dave! Did I just use that word, to describe Dave? Oh – my – God!

I forced my mind back to the here and now! Three men were talking. They stopped talking and turned as we got to within a few yards of them.

"What the hell?"

"Don't she look cute?"

"Nah, she looks pissed, but still kinda cute!"

"You cunts had your fun?" I growled.

"I suppose..."

"Well know it's my turn to have fun!"

I threw myself forward and punch the first man, sending him backwards where he stumbled into the next man. Kick-Ass moved and drove a fist into the third man's face and he went down hard, with barely a sound.

The first man drew his pistol and fired, the round hit me high on the left side of my chest and the impact pushed me backwards and I cannoned into the alley wall. The second man drew his pistol and Kick-Ass brought a baton down hard on his wrist, snapping it and cracking the man over the head with his other baton.

I pulled a pistol and shot the first man in the chest, from four feet away. The man fell with blood spreading across his chest.

"You okay?" Kick-Ass asked, pulling me back to my feet.

"I'll live; no penetration!" I replied, holstering my pistol.

We checked over the men and found a few hundred dollars in cash and some drugs. I called in the hit to our tame Cop and headed back towards the motorcycle, with the cash.

* * *

><p>Just as we were riding away, Hit Girl saw something that would be a problem.<p>

A car had stopped, on the opposite side of the street and two men had got out. Each man had an AKS-74U assault rifle held ready for use.

"Oh fuck!" I said.

I immediately pulled over and we dismounted, removing our helmets. The men hadn't seen us as their attention seemed to be on a building on their side of the street. Mindy and I had discussed carrying heavier weapons, but that was as far as we had got – discussed, so all we had with us that night were three nine-millimetre pistols!

"Plan?" I asked, my much more experienced partner.

"Well, normal people don't go up against assault rifles with pistols..."

I sensed a 'but' coming.

"But, luckily for you - I'm not normal!" Hit Girl replied and drew both pistols.

I grimaced and drew my Glock. I'd have to get used to this sort of thing, I supposed! Hit Girl moved across the road and aimed her pistols.

"Yippee-Ki-Yay, motherfuckers!" She growled loudly and the two men span around with their weapons raised.

Hit Girl started firing her pistols, but her rounds weren't dropping the two men who seemed to be wearing body armour, but before she could fire headshots, the men started sending fully automatic gunfire in our direction and we both dived to the ground. I fired several rounds which dropped one man when a pair of rounds impacted the man's face dead centre.

We crawled behind a convenient car and listened to the bullets carving through the vehicle. We both reloaded our pistols and got ready for the next attack. But nothing came as the AKS fire ceased and the man jumped back into his car, leaving his partner dead on the sidewalk and accelerated away. We crossed over and Hit Girl checked out the dead man.

"This is _not_ good!" She announced, looking down at the body without further elaboration.

* * *

><p>"You are fucking crazy, girl!" I announced as we headed back to the motorcycle.<p>

"Who's the crazier? The crazy one or the one that follows the crazy one?" Hit Girl responded.

I chuckled and Hit Girl smiled. We pulled our helmets on and continued down the street on the Ducati.

..._...

Twenty minutes later we had stopped and parked up beside a park.

It was time for a breather, plus we needed to re-load our empty magazines from the stash of ammunition stored in the Ducati's panniers. A warm coffee also helped to refresh us after our interesting evening. There were still people around, despite it being well after nine in the evening. It was just then that a motorcycle came down the street and I saw Hit Girl give it a strange look, before yelling out.

"Get down!"

Things happened very fast.

Hit Girl dived for the nearest group of people and pushed them down to the ground and I rushed towards a girl that had just come out of the park.

I pulled the girl out of the way of the gunfire and we rolled across the grass and came to rest beside a tree.

"Thanks!"

I looked up into the eyes of...

"Erika?"

"D - Dave?"

"Well, this is awkward!"


	12. Marty

**_Saturday Night  
>Safehouse C<em>**

That had been an interesting evening!

"You enjoy yourself, Officer Maclean?" I asked Mindy.

"Couldn't resist; I watched the first three Die Hard movies on Thursday!"

"I noticed! You really get into those action movies, don't you?" I commented, then turned serious. "Anyway, _Mindy_, since when do you go postal and attack two guys armed with damned assault rifles?"

I must have pushed the wrong or right button, depending on how you looked at it.

"Hey! I'm Hit Girl, I don't fucking run away, asshole!"

I took a deep breath, before replying.

"You got shot and banged up against a wall this evening and then you almost got yourself cut in half by a goddamn assault rifle! You are not fucking invincible, or have you fucking forgotten the D'Amico Penthouse!"

I saw Mindy scowl and had a brief moment of fear, but ignored it. I had to get through to her; I didn't want anything to happen to _my_ Mindy. Hold on! That was the first time that I had referred to Mindy as _my_ Mindy – I really did care about her!

"Look you jumped up green asshole! I don't fucking need you to tell me what's goddamn safe and what the hell isn't! That was a low fucking blow, talking about _that night_! _I_ am the professional here, you're just the fucking side-kick wannabe!"

Okay! Was this just hormones or was she really pissed. How far should I take this?

"Now look here Hit Girl, you may think that you're the best at what you do, but there are people who care about you, so get used to the fucking idea!"

"I don't _think_ that I am the best; I fucking _know_ that I am the fucking best, asshole!" Mindy yelled back.

"It's time to fucking grow up Mindy! This is the real fucking world; not a fucking comic book and actions have consequences and when you're dead you're fucking dead!" I retorted and headed to my bedroom, leaving Mindy standing alone in the middle of the Safehouse.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following morning<br>Sunday_**

I was up around eight the following morning and headed straight to the kitchen for coffee.

Yet again that girl had knocked me for a loop! Every time that I thought I'd got her figured out, she did something like last night. Not only had she dived into a situation that could have killed her, she almost ripped Erika apart!

After having saved Erika, I had helped her up and then Hit Girl had immediately seized her and thrown her up against a tree.

"Not one fucking word! You don't say one solitary fucking word! Understand?"

"Enough!" I'd said and pulled Hit Girl away and then back to the motorcycle.

..._...

Mindy stayed in her room until well after lunchtime.

Just as I was starting to get worried and considering checking on her, she finally appeared. She was in her pyjamas and looked in a right state. Her eyes were red and swollen, she also had a vicious bruise on her upper left arm. It was then that I remembered, with a jolt, that she had been shot and had hit that wall rather hard, the night before.

"Let me check that bruise," I suggested and Mindy obediently sat beside me on the couch.

"I'm still mad at you!" Mindy stated, avoiding my eyes.

"No you're not; you've realised you were in the wrong, but I know that you won't ever actually admit that."

Mindy looked at me and I could see that she had been crying some time ago.

"I couldn't sleep. My chest and my arm hurt too much," Mindy finally admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded.

"You were mad at me and I was trying to be mad at you and..."

"Mindy, I'm sorry. I should not have forgotten about your injuries and left you last night."

"Shit happens!" Mindy said with a somewhat forced smile.

"Let's get you sorted out, okay?"

* * *

><p>I was so stupid.<p>

I should never have gone up against those men with the assault rifles; they were goddamned Russian Mafia and now they were after us! Well done, Mindy!

How did I know that they were Russian Mafia? I'd seen the vivid tattoo on the dead man's neck, which was as good as a membership card. I let myself get carried away, as fucking usual!

I looked over to the corner of the Safehouse, at the cabinet that held my Daddy's armour and sniper rifle and I mentally apologised to Daddy for my errors and promised that I would not let them happen again.

I was stupid to react to Dave in the way that I did, too, when we got back here. I knew that he cared about me, but I didn't think that it had ever occurred to me exactly how much he cared! After all I was his family, as much as he was mine and I really did need Dave. I would never admit it to his face, but I needed him and would not be able to survive without him. I knew all about combat and fighting and stuff, but Dave knew about the real world and how to be normal, almost like Chloe. I say 'almost' 'cause that girl was not normal!

I was lucky that I just had a bruised chest and arm and nothing worse! Those AKS rounds would have cut through our armour without a second thought.

..._...

Another problem had arisen, though: Hit Girl was a pussy! Dave had tried not to notice, but I thought that he must have noticed that things have changed on my chest. Basically, I needed a bra - but I didn't have the fucking guts to ask Dave to help me; so yeah, Hit Girl was a fucking pussy!

Dave had said that he needed to go out, so that gave me some time to sort myself out. I grabbed a shower and got dressed then sat down to watch the next Die Hard movie.

* * *

><p>I had to admit that my shopping trip could have been more embarrassing, but I survived!<p>

I had gone out to meet Chloe and then we had gone shopping, as I had needed her help for more than one task. Once my tasks were completed, I thanked her and we went our separate ways. By the time I had returned to the Safehouse, Mindy was dressed and looking a lot more presentable.

"Hi!" I said, cautiously, as I came in the door.

"Hi, Dave!" A much happier sounding Mindy, replied and she smiled a proper smile too.

"Got something for you and before you ask, it's nothing violent or vigilante related!" I said and saw the excitement vanish from Mindy's face.

Mindy peered into the bag and I saw her eyes go wide and her face went bright red. Now one of two things were going to happen: she kills me, or she just growls at me and takes the bag to her room. But I was wrong, Mindy picked a third option!

"Thank you, Dave – I – I really couldn't do this without you..."

Then she vanished into her bedroom – with the bag. I had, with Chloe's help, obtained some bras for Mindy. Nothing special, just plain white and the smallest available. It was more than a little embarrassing poking around the bras in the store, I could tell you and I was getting a lot of strange looks!

Mindy reappeared, dressed as before, but itching at something under her t-shirt. I tried not to smirk, but it wasn't easy, although the possibility of impending injury helped.

"I considered taking you with me to choose, but..."

"Not fucking likely!" Mindy replied with a big grin. "Thanks, I think... It itches like fuck!"

"Well you did seem to need one! I, err, had to rope in Chloe to help me pick the right ones..."

"Smart as well as handsome!" Mindy replied before blushing and clamping her hand over her mouth.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Two days later<br>Tuesday  
>Safehouse C<em>**

"Now Hit Girl, be nice to the visitors! No biting and no hitting, understand?"

"Yes, Ass-Kick!" Came the sarcastic response.

We were on the second floor, directly beneath the Safehouse, where we usually practiced with our pistols. I heard the main door, downstairs, click open and then shut. Next came footsteps on the stairs and three people appeared.

* * *

><p>"Oh no! Not <em>her<em> again!"

"You're safe Erika; she _won't_ attack you!" I said, trying to put her mind at rest, although I didn't think that she was totally convinced.

"What the fuck?" Marty exclaimed. "Dave! Is that you? Why the hell are you dressed like – well – kinda like Kick-Ass?"

"Isn't that obvious? Or is it too preposterous, Erika? I am and always have been, Kick-Ass! Come on, guys," I said and led them upstairs, with Chloe and Hit Girl following.

..._...

Once we were back in the Safehouse, I pulled off my mask.

"We all thought that you were dead!" Marty exclaimed.

"I'm not dead, thanks to my new little friend, Hit Girl!" I said.

"Watch who you're calling _little_, cunt!"

"So you are _that_ girl!" Erika said, with understanding. It was a statement, more than a question.

"Yes, I am!" Mindy said, pulling off her mask.

"Damn, you're young!" Erika exclaimed and I was sure that Mindy blushed slightly. "You even started puberty yet?"

"Hey! I promised Dave that I wouldn't hurt you; now don't make me break that promise!"

"Sorry, that was rude!" Erika apologised quickly.

"I'm really speechless!" Marty said.

"For a change..." I quipped.

"Tell me about it!" Erika added with a grin.

Mart stepped forward and gave me a hug.

"Damn, I've missed you Dave..."

"I've missed you too Marty, I really have and I've even missed you Erika!"

"Dave, I'm so sorry about your Dad; he was a great guy," Marty said.

"Thanks. I miss him a lot. Mindy lost her own Dad that night, so we look after each other."

"You two aren't..."

"Erika!" Marty exclaimed.

"No, we aren't fucking!" Mindy growled, with a slight pinkness to her cheeks. She avoided my eyes too.

"I saw you in the store, down the feminine hygiene aisle! I knew it was you; you were buying for short-ass here..."

"Hey! Remember what I said!" Mindy growled and Erika took a step back.

"Yes that was me!" I admitted.

"And where do _you_ fit into this madhouse?" Erika asked, looking at Chloe.

"Wrong place, wrong time! I'm Mindy's friend, Dave's too!"

"It's good to meet you Mindy, I'm Erika!" Erika said, holding out her hand and Mindy shook it.

"Sorry about roughing you up the other night," Mindy apologised and she actually sounded quite genuine!

"I'm glad somebody is looking after Dave; I'm Marty! You have one hell of a place here!"

..._...

"New costumes?" Marty asked, examining the new suits.

"We needed upgrades; the wetsuit wasn't quite cutting it and neither was Mindy's costume."

"I'm sorry about your Dad, Mindy. That was _really_ horrible, what they did to him," Erika said. "It scared the shit outta me!"

"Thanks, Erika. He suffered quite a bit, but at least I managed to rescue Dave!"

"That was a major beating you took, Dave! What happened after that; you just fucking vanished?"

"We had to get vengeance on the man that killed my Daddy!" Mindy said angrily. "Dave offered to help and I'm glad he did, or I would be dead right now, pushing up the fucking daisies!"

"Well Dave, you managed to accomplish your idea of becoming a superhero and along the way found another one! You two are the real fucking deal!"


	13. Marcus

**_Tuesday  
>Safehouse C<em>**

"Dave, what happened to Katie?" Erika asked.

"We don't know. Her family was killed, we found the bodies, but Katie's body has never been found," I responded. "The NYPD say that the case has gone cold."

"What! They can't do that!" Erika demanded. "It's Katie!"

"I'm sorry. But, we are doing what we can to avenge our Dad's and Katie. We think that she might have been kidnapped by somebody related to the D'Amico family."

Mindy was rubbing her chest.

"What's up?" I asked.

"The armour stopped the goddamn bullet, but it fucking hurts underneath and there's a bit more to be hurt there than there was last time I was shot!"

* * *

><p>"Show me what you've got, Ass-Kick!" I goaded.<p>

"Come on then short-ass!" Dave retorted and grinned at Marty.

Chloe, Marty and Erika were sitting on the couch and eagerly watching our little show. Dave moved in and I let him get in some strikes – didn't want him to look bad in front of his friends! I mistimed one dodge and Dave's foot caught me on my left shoulder and sent me, literally, spinning off to one side; how embarrassing!

Damn! Dave was improving – maybe I was a good teacher, who knew! He was also getting stronger, so when he did hit me, it fucking hurt like hell. I kept telling him never to pull a punch or a kick - I often did, otherwise I'd fucking kill him! Maybe I just needed to learn to dodge better...

I gathered my dented ego up and turned back to Dave. I expected him to apologise for hurting me, but no.

"Back for more, little bitch!"

I scowled at him, expecting him to flinch, but nothing! He was actually getting good, which was a surprise, but it was what we were working towards. Dave said that the Kick-Ass that had helped me kill D'Amico had been Kick-Ass 2.0 and we were working towards Kick-Ass 3.0, so maybe he was now Kick-Ass 2.8? He still had a ways to go, considering that I was Hit Girl 10.0!

Time to show everybody what Hit Girl could do...

I stared into Dave's eyes and watched for the slightest tell-tale that he was about to move. We both stayed motionless for what seemed like hours but was barely two minutes. There it was a dilating of the pupils and a shift of focus. Dave had barely moved a foot, before I planted a devastating spinning kick into his side and he rolled across the mat with a grunt of pain.

"You are terminated!" I said triumphantly.

"I'll be back, Hit Girl!" Dave grimaced from the mat.

Chloe and Erika seemed to approve, while Marty seemed a little appalled, but he did smirk.

* * *

><p><strong><em>A week later<br>Tuesday  
>One Police Plaza<em>**

This was nuts!

Totally fucking nuts! I was standing on the roof of One Police Plaza, at night and it was cold, very cold! I had received a cryptic letter, just that morning, delivered by a young girl that looked remarkably like Mindy, but much more polite!

The letter had told me to be here, at ten twenty-two in the evening. The letter had been signed '_M_', so I assumed that it had been Mindy. It was worth the risk, if I could talk to that girl, if only for a minute.

* * *

><p>"No uniform tonight?" A voice growled out of the darkness and I took a chance with my reply.<p>

"I'm a Detective Sergeant now, partially thanks to you guys – just waiting for a Lieutenant's slot."

"Congratulations, Marcus!" I recognised that voice again, it was Mindy. Just hearing her voice sent happy emotions through me.

Two forms emerged from the darkness – one much shorter than the other. They wore some rather extreme outfits. Was that body armour?

"I assume that the short one is Hit Girl!"

"You assume right and less of the 'short'!"

"She gets a bit upset when people call her 'short'!" The other form commented and it sounded like Dave.

"Surviving her growing pains, then?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Barely!" Kick-Ass quipped. "_Bloody_ nightmare!"

"You're the one who's gonna be bleeding, cunt!" Hit Girl growled.

"That's where it normally comes from!" Kick-Ass added with a laugh and Hit Girl scowled.

"Do I get a hug – from Hit Girl, or is she above all that?" I asked.

* * *

><p>Hit Girl hesitated and then stepped forwards, before then taking another step and wrapping her arms around Marcus, who did the same.<p>

"I've really missed you," Marcus said.

"I've missed you, too, Marcus."

After a few minutes the two of them separated and Hit Girl stood looking unsure of herself, maybe; I couldn't see her face.

"I assume that you're gonna continue staying with Kick-Ass at your super-secret Hit Cave?" Marcus suggested.

"It is not a Hit Cave, although I wouldn't mind having one! I'm staying with Kick-Ass; he needs me – and – I need him..."

"I won't push it, so just keep each other safe and keep in contact – so I know that you're safe."

"I will, I promise!" Hit Girl replied.

"Those are some really neat suits, are they functional?" Marcus asked.

"Not much use if they weren't!" Hit Girl replied.

"They've proved their worth!" Kick-Ass added.

That worried me a bit, but at least they were serious about looking after themselves, so I couldn't complain too much!

"Oh and please don't make too much of a mess around the City!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Safehouse C<em>**

Mindy hadn't removed her suit. She was just sitting on the couch having only removed her wig and mask. I sat down beside her.

"Need to talk?"

"I – I'm glad I got to talk to Marcus – I know it was short, but it made me feel weird, inside. I don't know how to describe it really, but..."

"It's okay – I know what you mean. Just shows that Hit Girl is actually human!" I said giving Mindy a grin.

* * *

><p>He had a dorky grin, but I liked it!<p>

I really meant it when I said that I needed Dave – I really did need him and I knew that he needed me. I enjoyed seeing Marcus, if only for a few minutes and I thought that he enjoyed seeing me too.

I hoped that I was doing the right thing and that Daddy would agree – I would hate to let him down and I thought of him every day, especially when I saw his armour and his picture. I saw Dave looking at the picture of his Dad every morning too. Not too sure what Dave thought about me placing a cup of steaming hot chocolate brimmed with marshmallows, below the photos, every now and then?

"Right! I need some sleep. Dave help me off with this crap!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Three days later<br>Friday  
>Safehouse C<em>**

"We had one or two problems the other night!" Mindy commented, rubbing her chest.

She was laying out some firearms on the work-bench.

"Right, listen up; school is in session!" Mindy announced. "Left to right! Heckler and Koch submachine guns: MP5K-PDW – 'K' for Kurz, meaning 'short' – don't laugh, cunt! MP5SD6 – silenced, MP5-N which can be fitted with a suppressor and has a retractable stock. All these have the 'Navy' trigger group which allows selectable fire – either semi-auto, 3 or three round burst and full auto. All are also chambered for the 9x19-millimetre Parabellum cartridge – the same round that our pistols use. All of these MP5 series weapons can also be fitted with fifteen-round or thirty-round magazines.

"You are gonna learn to make-safe, strip, clean, reassemble and fire each of these weapons. Then we will have the ability for fully automatic fire, when it is called upon. We will need better weapons, but these should do us for the moment until I can sort out something better."

"Cool!"


	14. Katie

The room was dark, very dark and I was scared.

I had been kept here, against my will, for over four months – at least I thought so; it was so very difficult to keep track. It was near the end of September, when some men had burst into my home and I was dragged away. They had threatened to hurt my family, if I did not do everything that they demanded. Even now, I hope that my family are all safe. It is the only thing that has kept me sane and doing what I was told these long weeks.

I had to admit that I had not been badly mistreated and thankfully never abused or raped – which had been my worst nightmare. From what I understood this had something to do with Dave Lizewski. Somehow these men knew that I was associated with Kick-Ass and that I was also aware of Kick-Ass' true identity. I did my best, I honestly did; but finally I blurted out his name and felt horrible for doing it.

I had hoped that once they had the information that they were seeking, they would release me so I could go back to my family, but no, they had kept me here for weeks and weeks. I had had no contact with the outside world and no opportunities to call for help. The men holding me always had their faces covered, which I took as a good sign! Why hide their faces if they were going to kill me? At least _that_ gave me some form of hope. I prayed every night to be rescued – maybe I would be rescued by Kick-Ass!

Stupid idea – I knew that Dave was probably dead and Kick-Ass gone! I had seen that online video that showed Dave, as Kick-Ass, being beaten up – I had screamed for it to stop, but to no avail. Then that girl, at the very end of the video – she seemed to have saved Dave, before she had shot out the camera – maybe Dave did survive; I could only hope!

* * *

><p><strong><em>The same afternoon<br>Friday_**

"Goddammit, you fucking crazy bitch!"

"Fun, huh!"

"No! Absolutely not – and stop laughing!"

"Sorry, I can't help myself – that was really funny, seeing you blasted back like that!"

"Oh, yeah! Really fucking funny, Mindy! It's not cool, like at all!"

"Go again?"

"No! You crazy – purple – nut job! Stop laughing!"

* * *

><p>It had to be done!<p>

Dave had to learn what it really felt like to be shot and there was only one way to do it! Okay, I had cheated and used a Glock 22, chambered in .40 calibre – which dealt a good punch and I had enjoyed it, too – so fucking sue me!

Dave moaned about it the whole way back to the damn Safehouse. But you had to be cruel to be kind sometimes – something that I had learnt from Daddy, as some of his training had seemed very cruel – at least I had thought so, but I was still very thankful for it as it had paid off in the long run!

* * *

><p>She could be <em>so<em> fucking evil!

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was Friday the 13th that day! I was not superstitious, but Mindy _was_ evil and when you matched her with the date – well...

It was amazing how much shit was actually crammed into such a small person! But, I was slowly getting closer to her skill level – still a long, long, long way away, but at least I was some form of a threat know when we sparred and not just a damn bowling pin; getting knocked down, stood up and knocked back down again! Every now and then I was able to plant a good one on Mindy. This gave me pause for thought, as I was more than a little concerned about causing permanent damage – after all she was still a young girl and a good kick or punch by me, could break something!

Mindy would usually look mad when I hit her, but I knew that she was mad with herself, and not me. She was rarely mad at me, which I was quite happy with, but she was pushing herself – quite a bit actually. I thought that she might be worried that if she really shouted at me, then I might walk out. There was no way that I would _ever_ abandon Mindy – I was in for the long haul and I would only leave if Mindy asked me to and when I knew that she was safe and could look after herself or was being looked after by somebody like Marcus.

Did I love Mindy? Yes, I thought that I did, but in the brother/sister way. I cared for her immensely and I hoped that she cared for me, too! Maybe one day she would meet somebody that she could spend the rest of her life with and be safe and happy.

Would I be jealous? Hell yes!

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following day<br>Saturday  
>Safehouse C<em>**

"That fucking hurt!"

"No pain, no gain, Marty!"

"Gee, thanks Mindy!"

Erika tried not to laugh. Mindy was training Marty, Erika and Chloe. Marty obviously had quite a lot of weight to lose, while Chloe and Erika just had some toning up to do.

"Hey Marty – if I can train _him_; then I can train anybody!" Mindy said, looking at me.

"Gee, thanks Mindy!" I said, mimicking Marty.

Mindy showed Marty her rock hard stomach, which impressed Erika.

"Look, if I can make Dave hard – I can make anybody hard!" Mindy said innocently.

Chloe and Erika burst out laughing, closely followed by Marty and me. Mindy however didn't seem to get the joke – well not immediately, but a few seconds later Mindy went bright red.

"You know what I fucking meant, you cunts!"

..._...

The rest of the morning passed without too many bruises and Mindy had overcome her embarrassment – mainly by laying into _me_ as a distraction!

Finally Marty was flat on the mat and could barely move. Erika and Chloe were dripping sweat and breathing heavily. Even Mindy was looking tired, which was good was I was fucking knackered!

"I think we need a cab!" Erika said, getting to her feet.

"Same time next week?" Mindy asked.

"Yeah, right! It'll take a goddamn month to recover from this!" Marty groaned.

"Suck it up, Marty!" Mindy ordered, but she still helped him up off the mat with a grin.

"Thanks Mindy – I'll call!" Marty said as he left.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Riker's Island<strong>_

"What have you got for me?"

"Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, Boss."

"Who and who? Kick-Ass? Wasn't he that dick getting beaten to shit some months ago? Who the fuck is Hit Girl?"

"They are vigilantes Boss and they killed Frank – apparently one of them blew Frank out of a window with a bazooka!"

"A bazooka?"

"Yes, Boss!"

"Frank was killed by a couple of lunatics in costumes? What the fuck is going on out there? Two idiots dressed up as God knows what kill dozens of men and then blow Frank out the window with a fucking bazooka?"

"Apparently!"

"I want them dead – I want their heads – see to it!"

"Yes Boss!"


	15. Alex

**_Three days later  
>Tuesday<br>Brooklyn_**

I needed a new place to stop and rest my backside at night.

I had found a decrepit looking building that was built from a red type of stone. It looked fairly solid and should keep the wind and rain off of me.

Surprisingly the main door was solid and seemed to be locked, so I moved around the ground floor and finally found a damaged part of the building – it looked like a lorry had backed into the wall and damaged a window frame. I was able to force the window open with a piece of discarded steel that I had found.

Inside, I found rubbish strewn about, but otherwise the place seemed okay and there was no sign of any damp. First things first, I would need to scout out the building to find out if it was completely abandoned. The first floor was similarly empty, but rather worryingly it looked like somebody used one wall as a firing range!

The final floor was the jackpot! The corridor was tidier, but there was a steel door off the corridor. I took a chance and pulled on the handle – it opened and I walked through the door.

* * *

><p>I dragged the bags up the stairs and wistfully dreamed of there being an elevator!<p>

On the third floor I punched in the code, but the door didn't click open – the lock was on the fritz again! Second time this month – I would have to see if Marty could fix it. I pulled open the door, stepped in and froze.

"You know – in the normal world people would see this scene as very, very strange! However, after a few months living with you – this just seems so normal!" I said, taking in the scene before me.

"I can explain!"

"This should be good!" I laughed. "So, what is the excuse for my finding a thirteen year-old girl, stark naked and standing over an unconscious boy?"

I think I must have reminded her of something, because Mindy went bright red and tried to cover herself up. I laughed and grabbed a towel before throwing it to her, so she that she could regain some dignity!

"There were no more towels in the bathroom and I never checked before I went for a shower. I came out here to get a towel and well – I found that boy in the Safehouse, so I cracked him with a spinning kick!"

"He must have enjoyed that, just before he lost consciousness!" I quipped and received a nasty combined glare and scowl in return.

* * *

><p>That had been embarrassing, no humiliating, no worse – mortifying!<p>

Strangely though I felt a strange feeling when Dave saw me naked. It was a strange feeling that I had never felt before, but it felt good – it felt awesome.

Well, it couldn't get any more humiliating that was for certain!

* * *

><p>Mindy reappeared with clothes on!<p>

"That's better, Mindy!"

"Ha, ha!"

"What do we do with the boy?" I asked. I had checked him out and he was breathing and must have been about twelve or thirteen.

"I was going to tie him up, before you arrived..."

"That would have looked good: a naked girl, tying up a boy – I never knew you were into that sort of thing, Mindy!" I laughed.

Mindy blushed again and looked mad!

"I am not – I would not – I..." Mindy gave up and lapsed into an embarrassed silence.

* * *

><p>Okay, I was wrong; it <em>could<em> get more humiliating!

I really need to watch what I am saying around Dave and the others – second time in a few days that I've said something that got twisted into innuendo: I have so much still to learn about real life!

I couldn't be mad with Dave, it _was_ funny and well, it was good for us to have a laugh from time to time!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Long Island<em>**

It was time to avenge my father – I had simmered for fucking months.

I had to get even with that fucking asshole Kick-Ass and that purple bitch Hit Girl – they had both been responsible for killing my father. I now had a choice to make – would Red Mist come back, or something else.

My Mother had no idea of what had taken place at the Penthouse – she just thought that it had been an accident and Dad had died in a goddamn fire – as if – it was a fucking bazooka, for fuck's sake!

Now, my return – it had to be big, to make an impact on the City and that fucking Kick-Ass and his bitch!

* * *

><p><strong><em>That afternoon<br>Atomic Comics_**

"Hey, missed you at the weekend – where were you?" Todd asked.

I looked at Erika – we had talked about this.

"I had to go out of town with my folks, didn't get back till Sunday," Erika replied.

"I had some stuff to do, really wore me out, so I stayed home," I said.

"Cool! No problem – just thought that you guys might have been avoiding me, or doing something private, err, together!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Safehouse C<em>**

I had one hell of a headache and I wasn't exactly sure where I was – I looked around me.

I was on a bed – a bed! I hadn't felt a soft bed under me in weeks – that must have been why I actually felt better than I had in ages, apart from the headache of course!

Where was I? Why did I have the image of a naked girl imprinted on my mind and why was that image the last thing that I actually remembered? I tried to get up and found my hands bound in front of me – what the hell?

"Hey! Naked bitch – why the fuck am I tied up?" I yelled.

A few minutes later the door opened and I saw – purple!

"Aren't you a bit short to be a vigilante?" I tried

"What, you fucking cunt!" The short vigilante growled.

"Were you the one that I saw naked? Not too bad, I'll admit – rather hot too!"

"Shut up, err, cunt!"

"You are in deep trouble, boy!" A deeper voice then said and a much larger, and greener, vigilante appeared in the doorway and my bravado vanished. I now felt fear – I had heard of Kick-Ass, among the other people that I had met in the alleys of New York. That meant that the short, purple vigilante was the much feared Hit Girl. Despite her limited stature, many grown, hardened men were scared shitless of her capabilities! I was only thirteen, so I knew that I too, should be scared – but I was still alive and I had obviously intruded on their secret hideout, so they wanted me alive – should I be worried _why_ they wanted me alive?

"You know – you should be _very_ scared, right now! I don't like people who break into my Safehouse – I cut them to pieces and I start cutting off those pieces which they value the most!" Hit Girl growled.

I _was_ feeling fear and it was all I could do not to piss myself!

"I needed somewhere to stay – I have nowhere else. I found a damaged window downstairs and forced it – you know, you really should improve your security!"

"I'll take that under advisement, boy!"

I watched as Hit Girl removed something from her belt and I saw a brief flash of shiny metal and then I saw an extremely sharp Balisong, just inches from my face and I tried to push down into the bed and away from the blade.

* * *

><p>I had a feeling that Hit Girl was enjoying herself, just a little bit too much and at the expense of this young boy who seemed to be shitting himself with fear – he obviously knew what we represented and what we were capable of.<p>

"What is your name, boy?" I growled.

"Alexander Cramer – my friends call me Alex..." The boy replied with hope in his voice.

"Okay – Alex – I'm gonna stop fucking with you!"

I saw the Balisong move swiftly downwards and the boy started to scream.


	16. New Recruit

**_Safehouse C  
>Tuesday<em>**

I thought that Hit Girl was about to carry out her threat, but the Balisong cut through my bindings, like they weren't there and my hands were freed.

I stared up at Kick-Ass and Hit Girl in surprise and saw that both of them were grinning at me.

"Oh that was really bloody amusing!" I said. "Fucking Yanks!"

"Sorry, kid! We needed to know that you were genuine and threatening to cut your, err, whatever off does tend to improve honesty!" Hit Girl said with a smirk. "Get up!"

I got up off of the bed and followed the two vigilantes into the large room that I had briefly seen, much earlier. I ran my eyes over all the weapons and other equally lethal objects arrayed across the walls. Hit Girl waved me over to a couch where I sat down. She leant against a table and just stared at me. Kick-Ass hovered behind her.

"Trying to imagine _me_ without my clothes on?" I asked facetiously.

Hit Girl quickly moved her eyes away from me.

"Not on your life, you little cunt!"

"I am adorable and totally irresistible!"

"Oh God – just what I need; another hormonal teenager!" Kick-Ass moaned.

"So, Alex – tell us your story," Hit Girl ordered, ignoring Kick-Ass.

..._...

"Okay... I came over to the US from the UK, back in twenty-twelve and I have been here since then. I came over with my Mother – we were looking for a fresh start, but that didn't quite work out. Originally, we lived in Philadelphia, but things started going wrong middle of last year and well, to cut a long story short, my Mother died and I ran; I didn't want to be taken into care. I came to New York, as nobody would know me here, plus I couldn't afford to go anywhere else! Pretty lame story – but that's me!"

Nobody said anything for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry, Alex – about you Mom," Hit Girl said and I got a nod from Kick-Ass. "Neither of us have our parents anymore – it's just us."

"Thanks."

"It _is_ hell being on your own, isn't it – you want to stay, _maybe_ - join the team?" Hit Girl asked.

It took a while for what she had said to sink into my mind, which was flooded with memories of my Mother.

"You want me – to join – you?"

"You're not much to look at and a little scrawny, but I've had to train worse!" Hit Girl said, with a quick look at Kick-Ass.

Then Hit Girl turned deadly serious.

* * *

><p>"You tell anybody about us – you say anything out of turn – you sell us out and I will gut you like a fucking fish!"<p>

"I promise – I'll do anything that you say!"

"You'll do _anything_ that I say?

"Anything – within reason of course!" The boy said with an evil smirk!

"I should slap you stupid for that comment!" I growled, glad that my mask hid most of my blushes!

I looked up at Kick-Ass and he took a deep breath and nodded. We both pulled off our masks.

"Alex, I'm Dave and..."

"I'm Mindy!"

"Wow! You look just as hot with your clothes on!" Alex said, with a cheeky grin.

I had this sudden urge to cram my fist into his face, but decided not to – at least not right now!

* * *

><p><strong><em>That evening<em>**

The first thing that I did was walk the little shit downstairs and get him to show me how he broke in. Dave was able to secure the window properly, so it couldn't be reopened. I also managed to get the door lock to work properly too, but decided that we would need some upgrades to our security!

Then we had another problem.

"Well he's not fucking sleeping in _my_ room!" I growled at Dave.

"_I'll_ sleep on the couch, Mindy," I offered.

"He can't sleep there – he'll freeze!" Dave countered.

I actually considered moving into Dave's room, but then thought that that might not be a good idea - for, oh so many reasons!

* * *

><p>"Dave, what are we gonna do with him?" I asked.<p>

I was sitting on the end of Dave's bed, while Alex was taking a much needed shower. I had changed into my pyjamas and was intending on making sure that Alex was settled before I went to bed.

"He seems to like you!" Dave teased.

"Yeah – he likes me naked!" I growled.

"What are worried about – no offence, but there isn't all that much to see!"

"That's – I do – okay, you're right!" I admitted and felt myself blushing.

Dave was laughing!

"Funny, Ass-Kick! So, seriously – what do we do with the little shit?" I asked again.

"Do you want to let him stay here? Train him, maybe?" Dave asked.

"He could be useful – I don't want to dump him on the street. That just wouldn't be right..."

"Good call, Mindy!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following morning<br>Wednesday  
>Safehouse C<em>**

Alex was still fast asleep when I got up and went to get some coffee.

The boy must really have been knackered – he had slept quite a long time after I had clobbered him the day before. It also became clear that the kid had nothing much more than the clothes that he had arrived in. He had shown me what little he did possess, which included his British Passport that confirmed his identity to me, as well as his British Birth Certificate. Other than a few other personal possessions, he had nothing else.

I had discussed this with Dave and we had both decided that we would take him shopping and get him some new clothes and other stuff. I hoped Dave would be able to help with advice about what Alex needed, as I was having enough problems learning about teenaged girls, let alone teenaged boys!

Alex was not a bad looking kid and was a good four inches taller than me and had short brown hair and brown eyes. It also transpired that he was four months older than me. No I was _not_ attracted to him, as Dave had teasingly suggested – my attractions lay elsewhere...

By mid-morning, I had decided that he needed to wake up, so I threw a glass of cold water over his face – which got a really good reaction, followed by some really cool language – not to mention some swear words that I had never actually heard before!

* * *

><p><strong><em>New York City<em>**

She was actually being nice to me!

Well, apart from the way that she had woken me up, that morning at least! The three of us were heading into New York to do some shopping – apparently little Miss Vigilante didn't approve of my rather limited wardrobe.

I really hoped that I was doing the right thing by trusting these guys, but what other choice did I have – at least I would have a roof over my head and hot food to eat.

I was still trying to work those two out – were they in some form of a relationship? Dave must be around sixteen, while Mindy was thirteen – I knew because she had told me. If they weren't in a relationship, then maybe I stood a chance with Mindy; then again, maybe I'd better take things slowly!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Later that afternoon<br>Safehouse C_**

"You had better be worth it, you little fuck!" I growled.

I had just spent almost a thousand dollars that afternoon, mostly on _him_!

"Thank you, Mindy and you Dave. You're the first people that have given a shit about me, in months," Alex said.

"No problem, Alex. It's what we do – we help people; just don't make me regret it!"

"I won't – I promise!"

That was when Chloe appeared.

..._...

"Whoa, how many hot girls am I going to be seeing?" Alex commented, eyeing up Chloe.

"Not many more if you keep looking at me like that; I'll poke your goddamned eyes out!" Chloe replied casually.

"Feisty – I like!"

Chloe just glared at Alex and then turned to give me and Dave a questioning look.

"Who's the annoying fuck?" Chloe asked.

"Chloe, meet Alex – we seem to have, err, adopted him!" I said with a laugh.

"Oh dear!" Chloe commented, looking Alex up and down.

* * *

><p>"Err, Dave – she's smiling at me; should I be worried?" Alex asked.<p>

"Probably!" I replied.

"Is she going to hurt me?"

"Probably!"

"Why; what did I do?"

"Well you saw her naked and, oh yeah, you broke into her Safehouse – but mainly you saw her naked!" I replied with a laugh.

"He saw you naked, Mindy?" Chloe enquired.

"Long story – tell you later!" Mindy growled and then turned her attention back to the boy.

"Got any bruises, kid?" Mindy asked.

"Not really... Don't want any either!" Alex said quickly, catching Mindy's drift.

..._...

Mindy was a blur, but after thirty seconds Alex was on his back, with blood on his face.

"That fucking hurt you fucking bitch!" Alex said, grimacing with the pain and I was sure that there were tears in his eyes, but he was putting a brave face on in front of the two girls.

"Still wanna stay, brat!" Mindy taunted, pulling Alex back to his feet.

"Yes, dammit!" Alex replied.

"Go easy on him, Mindy – no broken bones!" I said.

"I won't hurt him that bad -," Mindy started, but she was cut off as Alex drove his right fist at her and she barely caught the movement out the corner of her eye

Mindy started to move out of his way, but not far or fast enough and the boy's fist caught her just below her left eye and Mindy went flying sideways and hit the mat hard, before rolling onto the floor.

"Fucking hell!" Chloe announced, with both hands over her mouth.

"Mindy!" I yelled and ran over to her.

Alex just stood there, staring at Mindy's prone form.

..._...

"Mindy, are you okay?" I said rolling her onto her back.

She looked up at me, but her left eye was a little swollen and she was grimacing with the pain. Alex and Chloe came up beside me. Mindy glared at Alex.

"Not bad, kid – you've got a powerful punch there! That'll teach me to underestimate weedy little shits!"

I helped Mindy to stand up and she swayed a bit as she got her balance. Chloe held out an icepack from the fridge, which Mindy placed on her swollen cheek, along with a few choice swear words!

"I'm really sorry Mindy – I didn't mean to hit you that hard, or to blind side you," Alex said, looking worried.

"Don't worry; you did very well – I'll recover; I've had much worse, believe me!" Mindy said, smiling at the boy. "You have potential!"

"Maybe I should start taking you seriously, Alex!" Chloe commented with a smirk.

"I'm a very likeable guy, please ignore my thoughts that sometimes spill out of my mouth without my realising it!" Alex said.

"Oh well, what's another nut job in _this_ place?" Chloe asked rhetorically.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _My combined stories have just broken the 500,000 word mark – half a million words; cool!_


	17. The Good Doctor

**_The following day  
>Thursday<br>Safehouse C_**

We had a problem – a big problem that involved the boy.

"He needs a doctor, Mindy!" Dave had insisted.

"You sure?"

"Goddammit, Mindy! The kid can't stand, he won't eat thanks to his sore throat and he's running one hell of a temperature! It's probably something he picked up off the street and it's only now caught up to him."

"Call Chloe? We can't take him anywhere!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>The home of Chloe Bennett<em>**

"Mom!"

"Yeah, Chloe!"

"I need your help – well somebody else does; he's ill! It's difficult, but you've got to promise to keep it a secret!"

"What have you done, Chloe?" Dr Bennett asked sternly.

"I'll explain later – just get your, err, stuff and I'll show you where to go..."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Safehouse C<em>**

The door clicked open and Chloe ran in, followed by a woman with a black case.

I just pointed at the door to the bedrooms and the woman went through to the bedroom where Alex was lying under a blanket. Dr Bennett seemed to ignore the, way out of the ordinary, room decoration and got straight down to business.

"When did this start?"

"He started feeling unwell last night, but by this morning he couldn't stand and his temperature had shot up!" Dave said.

"Out! Let me check him over – what's the boy's name?"

"Alex!" Dave said, as Dr Bennett closed the bedroom door behind him.

..._...

Forty minutes later Dr Bennett reappeared.

"Okay! What's the story?" Dr Bennett said, gazing around the Safehouse and taking in all the weapons, before focussing on her daughter, who seemed to shrink into the couch.

"Alex has been living on the streets; at least till a couple of days ago," Dave explained.

"What is all this? How are _you_ involved, young lady?" Dr Bennett asked, glaring at Chloe.

"It's not her fault, Dr Bennett!" I said quickly.

"Oh and who are you?"

"I'm Mindy and this place is a secret – Chloe said that we could trust you!"

"I gave Chloe my word that I wouldn't say anything – what is it that you do?"

"We fight for those that cannot fight for themselves!"

"Vigilantes?"

"Yes!" Dave said.

"You can't be much older than Chloe..."

"I'm not; but Chloe's been helping me – I've, err, led a rather sheltered life..."

"I see – I think! The boy has flu, worse case than normal but with care he'll be fine – keep him drinking. Have you two had your flu injections?"

"No – not this year..."

..._...

Two painful jabs later, Dr Bennett closed up her case.

"I'll come back tomorrow night – can you look after him?"

"For now..."

"Let me see what I can do – I don't agree with what you are doing, not one hundred percent; but I won't turn you in, either."

"Thank you, Dr Bennett, for all your help – you've got a great girl for a daughter!" Dave said.

"She does tend to do the right thing from time to time! I'll see you lot tomorrow night – after dark!" Dr Bennett said with a grin, as she left.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following evening<br>Friday  
>Safehouse F<em>**

That day had lots happening – good stuff and some weird stuff!

Dr Bennett came back and checked on Alex; he was doing okay, but needed somewhere better than here to get better, so Dr Bennett suggested that she take him home with her and keep an eye on him for a week or so – till he was better. She also suggested that Chloe could help look after him...

"Like hell! I'm not gonna run around after _him_!"

Anyway, Alex and Chloe are now out of the way, which is good, as Dave and I had a mystery to solve – a mystery that my Daddy had initiated! Now that was a bit of a surprise, as my Daddy had been dead for near enough five months! To cut a long story short, I had been on the computer – doing things, never mind what – when a message popped up and it was a message from Daddy!

* * *

><p>"Dave – come quick!" A rather panicky Mindy called.<p>

I went over and she was pointing excitedly at something on the computer screen. It looked like an email. It started: '_My dearest Mindy... If you are reading this, then I am dead..._'

"How do you know that it is from Damon?" I asked, not actually believing that it could be from him.

"It has certain things in it that tells me it's genuine and from him – private things!" Mindy replied.

"Okay – 'baby doll'?"

"It's one of the things Daddy calls, err, called me..."

"Not quite the sort of thing I ever expected Big Daddy to say!"

"He wasn't Big Daddy when we were alone..."

"So, what does the message say?" I asked, not wanting to read anything personal and private.

"It seems that Daddy set this message up to be automatically sent to me after five months, if he did not stop it – he seemed to have added to it a few times before he died..." Mindy was starting to choke up a bit.

"I'll leave you alone if that helps," I suggested, walking away.

"No! Please stay with me – I can't do this on my own..."

"Okay, I'll stay," I said and sat down beside her. "I didn't want to intrude into anything private and personal."

"Dave – I keep nothing private from you – you are a very personal part of my life now. There is nothing here that I wouldn't want you to see."

"Okay!"

We both read through the message – skipping some of the more personal stuff.

'_... Life will be very difficult on your own... I hope that you are safe and that you are getting on well with Marcus..._'

"Well that never happened!" Mindy said.

'_... I know that you will be restless and may want to be Hit Girl again... I cannot advise you one way or another... That decision must be yours and yours alone... I have taught you many skills that will help you to survive, but there are also many life skills that I was unable to teach you... If you do put the costume back on and go out there, you will need backup – you CANNOT do it on your own, so don't even try..._'

"He's right there!" I said.

'_... It would normally be against my better judgement, but under the circumstances I could only recommend one person to help you out, at this point... Yes, he's borderline useless and damned incompetent, but his heart is in the right place and he could be an asset to you... Hopefully you can turn Ass-Kick around so that he isn't getting his 'ass-kicked' so much – Ha, Ha, Ha..._'

"That _still_ doesn't make sense!"

"That's one hell of a surprise!" I admitted.

"Daddy _did_ like you – he just kinda had a warped sense of humour and was worried about you having an effect on me!" Mindy said with a grimace. "I suppose I am a _bit_ surprised at the recommendation, but then who else is there!"

"Gee, thanks!" I said sarcastically.

"Dave – you are not _that_ Kick-Ass anymore; Daddy would be proud of you!"

"You think so?"

"Definitely!" Mindy said forcefully and with a smile.

I was still reading, when I found something.

'_... I was saving it till you were thirteen and hopefully when Frank D'Amico was no more, but you will need it now, as you grow up into a young lady..._'

"Lady! Who the hell is he trying to kid!"

"Hey, asshole! I _can_ be a lady!"

"Yeah – right! Look at this..."

'_... The house may not look like much from the outside, but it has everything that a young vigilante might need and will help you as you grow..._'

"A house!" Mindy exclaimed excitedly.

'_... Instructions for how to find and access the place can be found..._'

There followed instructions that seemed to be in some form of code. There was also much more written by Damon as guidance for Mindy – but for now we had what we needed.

"Daddy liked his codes! He taught me a couple of methods. I'll need to figure this out and then we'll know where we are going!"

"Okay – just keep yourself calm; you look like you might explode!" I said and got a glare in return, then a smile.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following morning<br>Saturday_**

We received a call from Chloe that morning. She told us that Alex was doing well – but also that he was 'fucking annoying' and could we come by and shoot him!

Mindy had managed to decode her Dad's initial instructions and we found that we had a mystery tour around New York to complete!


	18. Moving Up

**_Saturday morning  
>New York City<em>**

We wrapped up warmly and caught a cab into the southern part of Manhattan.

Our first destination was Mosco St and Mott St. There, we were to retrieve a key. This took us about fifteen minutes in the prevailing traffic. We found ourselves in Chinatown and as the cab drove off Dave seemed very confused.

"What are we doing here?"

"Fuck knows!" I responded.

* * *

><p>We walked up and down Mosco Street for almost fifteen minutes before Mindy suddenly stopped and dug her fingers into my arm.<p>

"Ouch!"

"Up there!"

Mindy pointed up at a green fire escape.

"What?"

"There!" She whispered. "Under the rim of the fire escape – that's one of our, I mean Daddy's and mine – it's a dead drop. You see the small dark green container? It's magnetic – can you reach it?"

"Can't you?" I grinned.

"Okay, I'm fucking short – just grab the fucking container, cunt!" Mindy growled.

I reached up and seized the container, ripping it off the fire escape and swiftly pocketing it. I looked around; nobody seemed to have noticed. We walked down the street and crossed over Mulberry Street into Columbus Park, where we found a bench and sat down. I passed the container, stealthily, to Mindy.

"It's got a special catch," Mindy said fiddling with the container and finally opening it to reveal a quite ordinary looking key.

"What did Damon say that would fit?" I asked.

"A Post Office box, apparently," Mindy replied.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Fort Washington<br>New York City_**

We caught a cab almost to the opposite end of Manhattan!

It took over forty-five minutes, but we finally climbed out of the cab in front of a Post Office and quickly found the relevant box. Inside, was a small envelope and another task!

"He liked his games!" I commented dryly.

"I told you that he could be a bit weird at times!" Mindy responded offhandedly.

* * *

><p><strong><em>630 West 168th Street<br>New York City_**

Dave definitely looked far too happy as he walked towards me.

"What?" I growled.

"Damon definitely had a sense of humour – warped maybe, but still a sense of humour!" Dave replied.

I scowled at Dave.

"You know where I found this little container?" Dave asked with a grin, waving a similar container to that which we had found in Chinatown. He then laughed. "The department for children with psychotic and schizophrenic behaviour and other mental problems!"

"Okay – you are an asshole and so is Daddy!" Mindy groused, seizing the container from my hand.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Brooklyn<em>**

The house didn't look like much from the outside, but it seemed to be spread over quite a few floors.

I followed Dave up the concrete steps to the solid-looking front door, which seemed quite normal from this side. As expected there was a keypad recessed into the wall beside the door, covered by a small metal plate and hidden behind some plant life.

I took a deep breath and punched in the eight-digit code that Daddy had provided us – assuming that I had decoded it correctly!

..._...

On pressing the eighth digit we both heard a subtle electronic whirring and some mechanical clicking. I tentatively reached out and pushed the door, which opened and we moved into a dark hallway. I fumbled around and found a light switch – I didn't know what I had expected to see, but the hallway seemed almost normal, except that the door once closed, appeared to be fairly substantial and was most probably armoured! The same electronic and mechanical sounds we had heard before were repeated, as the door seemed to lock itself behind us.

The floor was tiled with small square ceramic tiles in a pleasant grey, while the walls were painted in an off-white colour. In front of us was a set of stairs going up and after these, on the left was a door that again seemed more solid than usual and had a code lock, too! I punched in the same eight-digit code and pulled open the heavy door to find a flight of steps going downwards – we'd check those out later!

..._...

At the end of the hallway was a door that led into a narrow, but very well equipped kitchen – the units were white and the worktops were a light grey marble. The kitchen was 'L' shaped and bent to the right ahead of us. At the apex of the 'L' was a large bay window with a door that presumably led outside. We couldn't actually see anything, as the windows and door had external steel shutters, which were currently closed. Dave identified the controls for the shutters, but we left them closed for now, relying on the lights.

The other leg of the 'L' was a breakfast room with a long wooden table that could comfortably seat six people. Everything was more than a little dusty, but otherwise clean. The floor was laid with large, light grey stone tiles. Twin, square arches led through into a comfortable room that had a real wood floor and an open fireplace. There was also a large dark leather couch and a pair of matching chairs. At the other end of this room was a large square arch, with a pair of wooden doors that led into another very similar room that would have looked out onto the street if the steel shutters had been raised. This room had a more comfortable looking leather couch and a large screen TV, as well as another open fireplace.

* * *

><p>Two doors led out, one from each room into the hallway where we had come in. This floor of the house had seemed remarkably normal! What had I expected? We headed upstairs and came out onto a small hallway with a small bathroom at the top of the stairs and another set of stairs that went up. The door beside the small bathroom led into a large dining room, with a table that could comfortably seat six. To the left were twin, square arches as downstairs, which led into another 'L' shaped kitchen! This one had light blue units and white marble worktops. Large floor to ceiling windows, three of them, would look down on the back of the property, again, once the steel shutters were raised.<p>

Back through the dining room, we found a room that was much more Damon! This room was equipped as a mini-Dojang and had a soft floor installed. Off of this room was a small room that held equipment relating to Taekwondo and the martial arts. Through this room we found ourselves back in the small hallway and started up the next staircase.

..._...

Here we found a corridor that led to a window that would overlook the alley beside the property. A door towards the back of the house led into the master bedroom suite, which was kinda disturbing – for Mindy, as it had cupboards that contained some of Damon's clothes and other personal effects. There was also an en-suite bathroom with both a bath and a shower. Across the corridor was a small hallway that led to a bathroom and two further bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with a single bed. The bedroom that had a double bed was painted pink, with purple trim and purple curtains. That room was obviously intended for Mindy and seeing it set her off crying and she just stood there for quite a while, taking it in.

..._...

Finally, Mindy took a deep breath and we went up to the top floor. This seemed to be Damon's office and had a large drawing desk and some comfortable chairs and the usual pair of computers! There was also a pair of glass doors which appeared to open onto a small roof terrace.

We descended three sets of stairs and found ourselves at the locked door, beside the first floor kitchen. I punched in the code again and we went down the stairs and found ourselves in an almost identical hallway. At the end of the hallway were some floor to ceiling doors that covered a laundry, with two large washing machines and two dryers.

"Your Dad was practical!" I quipped and Mindy laughed.

..._...

The first door was obviously armoured and had another code lock. Mindy punched in the code and the door clicked and we pushed it open.

"Wow! I knew Daddy had other weapons, but never knew where!" Mindy exclaimed in awe at the weapons that were arrayed around the walls. There were also work benches in the centre of the room for weapons maintenance. The only other room on the floor was empty, but there was also a bathroom.

There was one door left, which seemed to go out the back of the house. This door was very solid, like the front door and when we turned the handle we could hear the same electronic and mechanical noises as the door unlocked.

We walked through into a car garage; the light's came on automatically. There was space for at least two vehicles and there was also a large workbench equipped with the usual toolboxes full of tools required for vehicle maintenance. At the far end was a steel door, which we assumed exited onto the alley behind the property.

* * *

><p>During the entire tour, we had barely talked – the place was amazing and moving at the same time.<p>

"Are you okay, Mindy?" I asked as we made our way back to the first floor.

"I think so," Mindy replied, quietly.

"You wanting to move in?" I enquired delicately.

"I must. Daddy would have wanted me to and I need to face up to the fact that he is gone and I shouldn't go to pieces every time that I come across something of his!"

"You want to stay tonight?"

"Yes, please – you, too?"

"I go, where you go!"


	19. The First Night

**_That night  
>Saturday<em>**

**_The House_**

We had grabbed the essentials from Safehouse C, before returning to 'The House', as we seemed to be calling it!

What did bug me, though, was the fact that the house was just two miles south of Safehouse C! Damon had sent us all over fucking Manhattan – I bet he was having a damn good laugh about _that_ right now! I was a little concerned about Mindy, primarily her mental state – well, I was always concerned about her mental state! After all, she _was_ a teenager that enjoyed killing people in ever increasingly creative and violent ways! What concerned me right now was that she had been rather subdued since we had returned to the Safehouse and I sensed that she was going through the death of Damon, all over again.

So far, we had not told anybody else about the house, so we would not be disturbed and it would give time for Mindy to get herself settled in.

* * *

><p>This was creepy.<p>

I was very pleased with the house but it was what the house represented that felt creepy. Daddy had prepared this place for when we had completed the mission for which I had been prepared. I was in two minds about staying, or rather living here.

However, I could not allow Daddy's work to be in vain. I would just have to persevere and get over my issues. I knew that I could ask Dave, but I also knew that I would _not_ ask Dave – that would show weakness and I did not want to show weakness in front of Dave. I had done that before and yes, Dave had not rubbed it in and just pretended that it had never happened; Dave was too good to me!

I insisted that Dave take Daddy's room, while I took the room that Daddy had intended for me. I went to be feeling apprehensive, but fell asleep quickly as I was very tired after the day's activities.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following morning<br>Sunday_**

**_The House_**

When I awoke, I was not alone.

Beside me, fast asleep, was Mindy. She was cuddled up under the duvet and she looked content, so I just lay back, and dozed. I had no idea when Mindy had come through to me, but I knew that she must have been upset. I also knew that she would probably wake up and pretend that this had never occurred and I would not push it.

About twenty minutes later, I felt Mindy stirring, and then she opened her eyes and stared up at me. Next, she looked around the room and groaned before driving her face into the pillow.

"Problem?" I asked.

"Just humiliation!" Mindy grumbled into the pillow.

I laughed.

"Believe it or not Mindy – you _are_ human!"

"Yeah, I know! It's just a little embarrassing waking up in your best friend's bed!" Mindy said, finally lifting her face out of the pillow.

"Life's a bitch, bitch!" I replied with a chuckle.

Mindy laughed.

* * *

><p>After breakfast, we started sorting things out around the house.<p>

The first thing we did was pack up everything that belonged to Damon. This did not take long, but it was tough on Mindy. I supposed that one good thing about all this, was that Mindy was becoming a little more open with her emotions – at least when it was just me.

A lot of the furniture had had sheets protecting them from the accumulated dust, so that helped with the tidying. We also raised the steel shutters, letting natural light into the house. Damon had really done a brilliant job on this place.

Mindy had found a cupboard in the second floor kitchen that when opened contained a large flat screen that showed images of the outside of the property as well as images of the garage, first floor hallway by the front door and the kitchen on the first floor where there was a door to the patio. There was also a control unit and when we were in the armoury, we had noticed that there was some video recording equipment. We played the recordings back and saw our own visit on the Saturday. That feature would be useful.

As we poked around, we had identified more of Damon's paranoia. There were small gun safes everywhere! One in the hallway, to the right of the front door, two in the first floor kitchen, one in the first floor living room, a larger one in the second floor kitchen and a much larger one in Damon's room; there was even a large one on the top floor near the roof-top patio! All were populated with at least one pistol, if not two. The larger cabinets had a minimum of two pistols and an MP5K, while the cabinet in Damon's room was equipped with assault rifles and body armour!

* * *

><p><strong><em>One week later<br>Saturday morning_**

**_West 15th Street_**

"Cool!" Mindy exclaimed, craning her neck back and staring up the outside of the tall building.

It was definitely 'cool'! We had arrived at the New York City home of Chloe Bennett and her mother. This was also, where Alex had been staying for the past week, recovering from his illness. This was also the first time that we had seen either of them for the past week. We had talked over the phone, but nothing more.

Mindy had now sorted out her emotions and was ready for Alex to move into the house now he was healthy again. We headed up to the tenth floor and knocked on the door, which opened almost immediately, revealing a grinning Chloe.

"Come in!" Chloe almost yelled, grabbing Mindy in a bear hug.

"Put me down before I break every bone in your body!" Mindy growled good-naturedly.

Chloe laughed and dropped Mindy and then pulled her into the condominium. It was enormous and had large sloping windows on one side. Dr Bennett was sitting on a couch with Alex.

"Hi Alex!" I said. "You look a lot better!"

"Thanks, I _feel_ a lot better – Chloe helped!" Alex replied with a smirk and Chloe blushed.

"You two still fighting?" I asked.

"Chloe keeps her claws in now!" Dr Bennett replied with a chuckle that earned her a scowl from Chloe.

"I'm very impressed Dr Bennett, you have a great place here," Mindy said, still at a loss for words.

Mindy then walked over to the windows and spent a minute getting her bearings. Then she pointed off to the right.

"The D'Amico Penthouse – just a few blocks over there!" Mindy growled ominously.

I looked and was just able to see the ominous shape that I recognised from my flight in the jetpack. It was strange seeing the place again and a bit disturbing too – that place had been full of death and it had been where Mindy had almost died – twice!

* * *

><p>Before we left Dr Bennett, we gave her the address of The House and impressed on her the need for secrecy.<p>

Alex had acquired some extra clothes and personal effects, during his stay with the Bennetts, so we had packed this up and headed home – to the _new_ home.

"Now this is one hell of a nice place, Mindy!" Alex exclaimed once Mindy had shown him around the house.

"Thanks, Alex – that means a lot!" Mindy replied, almost blushing and very pleased.

Alex was very happy with his new bedroom and loved the house. Mindy used Alex to give the mats on the second floor, a thorough test that she found very amusing, although I am not sure that Alex did!


	20. Swipe With Disaster

**_Six weeks later  
>Friday<em>**

**_The House_**

It was the middle of April and still rather cold.

However, the house was warm, cosy and comfortable. The past six weeks had been spent training and learning. We had not been out as vigilantes in quite a while, but we now had a mission. Mindy had beaten Alex black and blue in her efforts to toughen the kid up and train him. I had to give the boy credit, he took the blows and listened to what Mindy was telling him – he took criticism surprisingly well considering that the phrases that came out of Mindy's mouth could be just as painful as her fists!

Chloe had spent time with us too and Mindy had enjoyed pounding her into the mat along with Erika and poor Marty. Marty was doing well, but was way behind the others – not surprisingly! I had learnt a lot too and had landed some good hits on Mindy several times, but I was always careful not to hurt her - too badly.

Chloe had felt that she was not ready yet to take the next step and become a vigilante – she seemed to have some reservations, but Mindy insisted that we should not push Chloe and that Chloe would know when she was ready.

..._...

Alex now had his own suit, which was a smaller version of mine and whereas mine was green and yellow; his was predominantly dark blue with lighter blue highlights. Mindy had laughed when he had first put the suit on, but I had to admit he looked menacing – kind of.

"Hey, short-ass! You looked in the fucking mirror, recently!" Alex had retorted.

Mindy had equipped Alex with a pair of Glock 26 pistols, just like the ones that she used. He had proved himself an accurate shot, which had both surprised and annoyed Mindy! He also carried a shortened riot baton for additional protection. Alex's suit had an embossed 'S' on the top left of his chest plate.

The 'S' stood for _Swipe_, which was to be his new superhero name.

* * *

><p>We would be going out for the first time that night and we geared up at Safehouse C.<p>

I was going out on my own motorcycle, so that Swipe could ride behind Kick-Ass. I was looking forward to this – for the first time we would be a team of three! Our first stop was a part of Brooklyn that should be a challenge, but not overly dangerous.

"Now, asshole! You follow every instruction to the fucking letter – understood!" I said to Swipe, who nodded.

The kid looked very apprehensive and more than a little scared. Fear was good – it helped your mind focus. I expected him to make mistakes – Kick-Ass did his first _and_ second times out, but I would try to guide him and above all, I would keep him safe.

..._...

We walked down the alley, making as little noise as possible. I was in front, with Swipe behind me. Kick-Ass was following up in the rear and watching our backs. In front of us were three men, all facing away from us and gazing into a blazing oil drum.

Once I got to within a couple of feet, I swept their feet out from under them and waited for them to respond.

"What the fuck?"

"Who the hell did that?"

"Oh fuck me!"

"Not a chance!" I growled and stared down at the three men.

They looked me up and down and then at my small stature.

"Fuck off, before you get hurt!" The man in the centre advised and started to get up.

I wouldn't move, if I were you!" Kick-Ass said, waving a baton in the man's face.

"Kick-Ass?"

"He's a fucking pussy!"

Kick-Ass kicked the man on the left in the face. The man screamed, as blood exploded from his smashed nose.

"Fuck!"

"Who the fuck's next?" Kick-Ass growled menacingly.

Wow – The 'pussy' had an attitude! I was – what – I had a strange feeling in my stomach, just above... Oh, Fuck! I shook myself – get your fucking head in the game, Hit Girl!

"Night guys! Thanks for the chat!" I growled and we all walked off down the alley, leaving three very shocked individuals.

..._...

"You okay, Swipe?" I asked. He was looking a little bit pale.

"You broke his nose!" Swipe said, looking at Kick-Ass.

"So – he mouthed off!"

"That is what we are doing – we are making sure that these cowardly, scummy, criminal pieces of shit, know that Hit Girl and Kick-Ass are to be feared!" I explained.

"You still onboard, kid?" Kick-Ass asked.

"Yeah – I'll be fine!" Swipe said, but he did not look it.

I exchanged glances with Kick-Ass and he nodded. We had talked about how we would operate tonight. The first phase was done – instil fear, but leave them alive to spread the word. Now phase two could begin – show them what we were capable of, how far we would go! I didn't think that Swipe would be too pleased with this next phase, but I needed to know if he should be part of this.

It would be better for him to quit now than risk other people's lives later.

* * *

><p><strong><em>A few miles northeast<em>**

We dismounted from the motorcycles and covered them up. I was really enjoying my new motorcycle; it was awesome! I would definitely need to go out more.

"Swipe – stay behind me at all times; we are escalating – you may need to use your pistols," I explained gently.

The boy nodded his acceptance, but he looked terrified.

"You'll do fine, okay!" I said and smiled.

The smile that I received in return was a forced one.

Well, that was that – the decisive moment.

..._...

I stepped into the alley and announced my presence.

"Howdy, cunts!"

Then... Oh, fuck! I expected gunfire – but oh fuck! It was like the fucking shootout in Heat! I dived behind a convenient dumpster, pulling Swipe with me. I knew that Kick-Ass would find his own cover.

"Keep your fucking head down kid," I yelled as the bullets flew. The kid was physically shaking and he grabbed my right arm and held on tight.

"Get off!" I yelled as I tried to reach my pistol, but Swipe hung on tight so I had no choice but to punch him in the face with my left hand and he fell back with a scream.

I pulled a pistol and emptied a magazine at the shooters. Kick-Ass was doing the same on the other side of the alley.

"Fuck this!" I yelled and holstered my pistol and pulled my Heckler & Koch MP5K around and started sending three-round bursts down the alley, accompanied by periodic screams.

Bullets were hitting the dumpster. Swipe was scurrying around, trying to avoid the metal shards that flew from the dumpsters, then the idiot went and stood up and received two rounds in his chest armour and I heard him scream and fall backwards.

So far, we had dropped a few shooters, but I couldn't see much – mental note: we needed NVGs! I felt Swipe behind me, exactly where I had told him to be, but I had no time for him right now.

"Stay here, in cover and stay the fuck down!" I yelled and he nodded.

"I'm going in!" I yelled to Kick-Ass, he nodded, and I saw that he had started using his MP5, too.

I pulled my bō-staff around, and then passed my MP5K to Swipe.

* * *

><p>I was shaking, I had blood running down my face from my nose and my chest was on fire – otherwise I was good!<p>

Hit Girl had thrust her sub-machine gun into my hands and then she had flexed her bō-staff – she looked damned awesome with that weapon! I concentrated on keeping my head down, but also following Hit Girl.

She ran forward, dodging the gunfire and put a foot onto a wooden crate and flipped through the air and as she went, she swept her bō-staff to her left, the outstretched arms of one man just seemed to drop to the ground, and blood spurted out of the severed stumps. As she landed, she severed one leg of another man, then span around and drove a blade into the man's chest. Immediately she withdrew her blade and moved on and I could swear that she was smiling.

"Holy fuck!" I muttered and was transfixed by both the scarlet blood flying and the darting purple figure.

She moved faster than any of the men could react and drove the razor sharp blade of one or the other end of her bō-staff into the chests of men as she passed. Bodies, or parts of bodies, were falling all around and then it was all over. I had never seen so much blood – except in the movies! I was appalled and one phrase was going around in my head: 'What the fuck?'

I watched as Kick-Ass walked forward, his MP5 behind his back and a pistol in his right hand. A shot rang out and Kick-Ass stumbled back, but he resisted the inertia of the bullet and double-tapped the man who had fired at him.

* * *

><p>There was a man, crawling away.<p>

He heard us approach and rolled onto his back.

"Please..."

"Swipe, come here!" I ordered and the boy came forward, somewhat hesitantly.

"This man is yours!" I said and took the MP5K from him.

Swipe drew a pistol with his right hand and aimed it at the wounded man, as he lay helpless on the concrete floor of the dark alley. The pistol was shaking and so was his hand, and then I noticed, so was the rest of him.

Swipe pulled the trigger twice...

..._...

The man on the ground breathed a sigh of relief. The boy had missed, most likely on purpose – he was not ready for this. I raised my pistol in one smooth motion and without a second's hesitation; I blew the man's head apart with four rounds.

Swipe just stood there as the blood, brains and bone sprayed across the concrete of the alley. I took the pistol from his hand, placed it into his holster, and then led him away from the scene of carnage. Kick-Ass followed and I noticed that this was not the frightened Kick-Ass from Rasul's apartment – this was a new breed of Kick-Ass; it was Kick-Ass 3.0!


	21. Fallout

**_Friday evening_**

**_The House_**

We had dropped off the motorcycles and our equipment at the relevant Safehouse and made our way home.

Dave checked Alex over for injuries and apart from a mammoth bruise on his chest and a bloody nose – he was okay. Alex had barely said a word since getting back home. Dave suggested, strongly, that we all get some sleep and go over things in the morning.

I had only been in bed about an hour when I heard a gentle knocking on my door. It had to be Alex – Dave didn't usually knock!

"Come in Alex," I said quietly.

Alex pushed open the door and came in.

"Sorry to disturb you, Mindy. I couldn't sleep and I wanted to talk... If now isn't good I'll go..."

Alex had obviously been crying; his eyes were very red and he looked miserable. This was my fault, so I had to try to fix it. I waved Alex over to my bed and I sat up. I was only wearing my underwear and Alex would normally have made some sarcastic or obscene comment, but he didn't seem to notice, which showed that he was not kidding around.

"Alex, I'm sorry I put you in that position – I shouldn't have..."

"It's okay Mindy – I know what you were trying to do, but I wasn't up to your standards and I apologise for that," Alex replied.

"No Alex. You saw things tonight that no kid should see. I first saw things like that, when I was seven and it scared the shit out of me. Daddy eased me into the blood and guts thing – I just dropped you right in the middle of it, which to my mind would be a good laugh – but I didn't stop to think about the consequences of that. I mean, when Dave first saw me in action with my bō-staff he was shocked and stunned – just like you were, not to mention that I was showing off, just a little!"

"Yes – I noticed that you seemed to be enjoying yourself!" Alex said, dryly.

I actually felt a little embarrassed by that comment!

Alex looked directly at me before speaking again. "I wanted to shoot that man – I wanted to show you that I could do it... I let you down and I'm sorry!" Alex said.

"Alex – you have nothing to be sorry for. I..." I began.

"But..."

"Don't interrupt. I'm going to tell you something that nobody else knows, not even Dave. The first time that I was supposed to kill a man, I froze and that was from a distance, with a sniper rifle. The second time was right up close, face to face, but my hands shook so bad that Daddy finished the man off for me. I was devastated – I felt like I had let my Daddy down, _twice_! He gave me two more opportunities, but I fucked them up, too – I was scared that I would never become a superhero, like my Daddy!"

"I can't believe that Hit Girl froze!" Alex said.

"At that point I wasn't Hit Girl. I was just a silly little girl that was doing her best to please her Daddy – he turned it into a game; but I'm not going to make that mistake with you. I'm not going to sugar-coat it and make it look like being a vigilante is safe and fun!"

"I'm pleased you are doing it like that – it gives me a chance to think things through properly."

"Right, kid. It's time for us to get some sleep!" I announced and saw the expression on Alex's face.

He was scared to go to sleep, scared of the nightmares that he might have. I'd been there – more than once!

"You want to sleep here tonight?" I asked and saw relief on Alex's face.

Alex nodded.

"This is not an invitation to 'sleep with me', as in sex! So don't get any fucking ideas and if your hands wander – I'll cut them off!" I cautioned, trying to cheer the boy up a bit.

Unfortunately, my attempt failed; I got a weak smile in return, but that was that! I pulled back the duvet so Alex could climb in and then I turned over and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following morning<br>Saturday_**

When I awoke, it was almost lunchtime.

The first thing that I did was check on Alex, but his bed was empty. I went to see if Mindy was awake and was rather surprised by what I saw! Alex was in bed with Mindy, although they were both facing away from each other, with a good foot of space between them. I turned to leave, when I heard a voice.

"Make a snarky comment and I will fucking floor you!" Mindy growled.

"I wasn't gonna say a word!" I replied with a grin.

"No – we didn't fuck!" Mindy said, as she climbed out of the bed.

I raised both hands up, defensively. "I never said anything! I assume he slept badly in his own bed and wanted to talk."

"Yeah. It was my fault. I pushed him too far, last night and exposed him to stuff _way_ too early – go on say it..." Mindy prompted.

"No Mindy, you did what you thought was right."

"You warned me that my plan might backfire on me – and it did! So you're supposed to say: I told you so!"

"Mindy, if I said that every time then I'd never get to say anything else!" I teased.

"Ass!" Mindy called as she headed for the bathroom.

* * *

><p>I felt a little better when I woke up.<p>

Mindy was gone and I had the bed to myself. I remembered the night before. Mindy had told me things that she had never told Dave – that meant she trusted me and I felt bad about what had happened in the alley.

I pushed back the duvet and looked down at my chest – it was black, blue, and still very sore. I got out of bed and went to get dressed.

* * *

><p>"Hi Alex – you feeling better?" I asked.<p>

"Thanks Dave, I do feel better – amazing what a night in bed with Hit Girl can achieve!" Alex quipped with a mischievous grin and a smug look at Mindy.

I watched as Mindy scowled, but smiled innocently. Alex seemed back to normal – at least his sense of humour was.

"So, is Mindy good in the sack then?" I teased and Mindy blushed – badly!

"She moves around a lot and tends to kick at times, but I survived!" Alex said.

"You two are fucking evil!" Mindy commented, going back to her cereal.

* * *

><p>Okay, I admit it; I fucked up with Alex by taking him into that second alley.<p>

If he had been killed or badly injured, I would have been devastated! Why had I been so goddamned stupid? I looked up as Dave came into the living room where I was sitting. He came over and sat beside me.

"You're beating yourself up about this, aren't you?" Dave enquired.

"Is there any point in trying to deny it?" I replied, forcing a smile.

"You made a mistake; you're only human, Mindy!"

"I know – but Hit Girl is not supposed to make mistakes and this mistake almost killed a thirteen year-old boy!"

"Mindy... I – you made a mistake and you've recognised that you made a mistake – so learn from it and move on, kid!"

"Thanks Dave!" I said and smiled properly this time.

"Plus, I'm sure Alex enjoyed the sack time!"

I felt myself blushing!

"Fucking asshole!"

* * *

><p>We sat down, the three of us, and talked through each minute of the night before and discussed alternative strategies.<p>

This finally put my mind at rest, but I swore to myself that I would not put anybody at risk in such a way again. Chloe, Marty and Erika would be trained without being put into a life-threatening situation like that.

I had to admit that Alex's behaviour had been better than I could have hoped. He was definitely brave and had the brains to think. Yes, he stood up and he was shot, but that was Alex doing his best to control his panic and the basic human instinct to run.

I thought that Alex would do fine!

* * *

><p>I was actually glad that I had broken into that building all those weeks ago.<p>

My life had improved immeasurably. Yes, I was living with a complete nutcase – Mindy and a geek, Dave. Nevertheless, it could be a lot worse and I could have died from the flu! Well, the flu didn't kill me and neither did Mindy's antics in the alleyway – what is it they say? What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!

Now, that night in bed with Mindy had been interesting – but I would much prefer to have been in bed with Chloe!


	22. The Void

**_Four weeks later_**

**_The House_**

"Hey brat!"

"I assume you mean me!" Alex replied with a smirk.

"Well, Dave is not a 'brat'!"

"Sorry, your purpleness!"

"Fuck, you can be so annoying!"

"Is that even a word?" Dave asked Alex.

"No idea!" Alex grinned.

"Pay attention, if you want to go out again – your bruises are healed, so unless you want more, watch what I'm doing!"

We had been sparring all morning. I was teaching Alex how to avoid getting into fights that he could not win and most importantly how to get out of fights when you were losing! The kid did not like showing weakness and he saw backing away from a fight as a weakness. I had to explain to him that running away allowed you to fight another day – which you could _not_ do if you were dead!

Alex had come a long way over the past few weeks and I was very pleased with him. Dave was improving and was properly using his height and strength to his advantage. I was showing Alex how to reply on his speed and manoeuvrability to get out of trouble, as I did. I also showed him that relying on his weapons too much could also backfire on him, if he lost them in a fight.

You had to hit hard and fast on the first go. Coming around for a second shot once your target was aware of your presence was not a wise move, especially if he was bigger than you were!

"Now – one thing to remember," Dave said, with a smirk in my direction. "Always keep your back to the wall!"

I glared at Dave, while Alex looked at me strangely.

"Am I missing something?" Alex asked curiously.

"Dave – _not one word_!" I warned knowing that Dave would just ignore me completely.

..._...

Dave sat down on the mat and indicated that Alex should do the same. I sat down too, knowing that I had no choice but to endure what was about to come out!

"At this point I had never met Mindy, let alone Hit Girl..." Dave started.

"Okay..." I interrupted. "Dave first met me when I was twelve and I was a bit of a show-off. I saw what I did as a kind of 'game'. Dave, or rather a very inexperienced Kick-Ass, got himself into a bit of a situation and was about to be killed, so I stepped in to help him. For some reason, I thought he had potential and I was right, as it turned out."

"Anyway... I was shitting myself and then suddenly Rasul, the owner of the apartment stopped advancing on me; he had a blade sticking out of his chest! The blade was removed, Rasul fell and I saw Hit Girl for the very first time - a very short Hit Girl! You wanna say it?" Dave asked, smiling.

"Why not... I stared down at Kick-Ass and the people in the apartment, before saying: '_Okay you cunts... Let's see what you can do now_'," I growled. Alex seemed to be enjoying the story.

"Creepy!" Dave admitted. "Then, Little Miss Assassin proceeded to slaughter everybody there, about six or seven people, using her bō-staff and a Balisong: '_Hey, I got one of those_'!"

I laughed at Dave's impression of me.

"Yeah... The little bitch smiled her way through the entire slaughter. She was like a damn Angry Bird, bouncing around the apartment, killing everything in sight and all the time showing off to me! Then her perfect plan came apart and she almost got killed, while commenting on my choice of Taser, except Big Daddy used his sniper rifle to kill the last man and then she got a mini lecture from Daddy!" Dave said, smirking at me.

I closed my eyes and remembered that night.

_"'Now Hit Girl, we always keep our backs where?'_" I said aloud slowly and quietly. "'_To the wall Daddy, I know. Um, it... it won't happen again. Nice shot, by the way'_."

"Sorry, if I brought back old memories," Dave said.

"No, it's okay – I like to remember Daddy," I replied before turning to Alex. "So you see, even Hit Girl can fuck up too if you let your situational awareness slip, or get distracted by green vigilantes!"

"Thanks for telling me that," Alex said.

"Everything we teach you is crucial to what we do and in a lot of cases learnt the hard way!" Dave said.

Alex grinned.

"Are there any more embarrassing stories?" He asked.

"Oh plenty!" Dave replied and I glared at him. "But not for today, Alex. Mindy can only take a certain amount of humiliation before she starts to get a little bit ratty!"

"Oh yeah – been there!" Alex replied.

Why do I put up with this shit?

* * *

><p>Chloe, Marty and Erika had heard about Alex's first night out and were a little shocked, to put it mildly!<p>

Mind you, I think Alex enjoyed having the two girls worry over him and he insisted on showing them his bruises, which had Chloe blushing. Mind you, the girls the managed to get Alex blushing too!

Mindy had a problem – nothing bad, just growing up.

"Dave, this suit is getting tight. I'm gonna have to get a bigger one!"

"You're growing up kid – it happens!"

It turned out that it was not just her suit, which had required replacing, either. Mindy had been rather shy and more than a little embarrassed by the fact that she had needed to buy quite a lot of new clothes. She had broadened out, quite a bit, in the hips and she definitely now had a chest – not quite Mount Kilimanjaro, but not the average bumps in the road, either!

Luckily, Dr Bennett had been able to come to the rescue. Chloe had also required some new underwear, as she seemed to be growing too; Dr Bennett had therefore taken the girls shopping.

..._...

On their return, their new acquisitions had led to an impromptu twenty-minute underwear show for Alex and me. The two girls thought it great fun to show off their new underwear and some of the other clothes that they had bought! Both girls giggled and blushed throughout the whole thing and Alex just sat there with his legs crossed and his eyes almost popping out. Once the girls were dressed again, Alex had quickly vanished off to the bathroom and the boy looked very pleased with himself, when he had returned a short while later.

* * *

><p>Mindy and I had been reading some more of Damon's letter.<p>

In the section of the letter we read, Damon warned us of a possible consequence of getting rid of Frank D'Amico. In the criminal world, like nature itself – when there is a vacuum, something will move in and fill it. In this case, another mob-boss would be expected to take over from Frank D'Amico and he could be far worse than the man we had removed. Damon went on to warn us that this was probably inevitable, but he advised that the sooner we were able to hit them, before they were properly settled into their new empire, the better.

* * *

><p>It was time to find out what was going on in the City and more precisely, <em>who<em> was running the larger criminal element.

We had succeeded in getting ourselves 'known' out on the streets and the names of Kick-Ass and Hit Girl had spread around the streets and alleys of New York City – not to mention the new vigilante: Swipe. Criminals had been talking about the three vigilantes, both with awe and fear. Now, everybody knew about Kick-Ass, thanks to his YouTube videos and some had figured out who Hit Girl was from the internet video and the few seconds of her in action, but Swipe was a complete unknown and so really was Hit Girl – except for her reputation.

However, despite Swipe being shot, we had accomplished our mission and we now had an enviable reputation. Most criminals would now run rather than fight us. We would also be taken seriously, despite my obvious height limitation! The serious criminals also now knew that we were prepared to kill and would do so to accomplish our missions.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Saturday night<em>**

The three of us were high up on an apartment building, gazing down on the City below us.

I was pleased with how the night had gone to this point for two reasons. Reason one: the first group of scum that we had come across had turned out to be a prime example of how successful our last outing a month ago had gone.

The alley had been dark, but several men had been talking loudly with the help of numerous cans of beer.

"Howdy boys!" I growled.

Nobody seemed to have heard me, or at least the men were not paying any attention to me. It took Kick-Ass to get any acknowledgement.

"It is not polite to ignore a lady!" Kick-Ass growled. His growl was getting good too!

Two of the men turned, half-heartedly and they did a classic double take.

"Oh, fuck me – I'm out of here!" One yelled and ran down the alley away from us.

"It's that fucking purple bitch!"

"She's the fucking devil that's who!"

"She'll kill you soon as look at you!"

The alley was empty in mere fucking seconds! I smiled at Kick-Ass, who nodded in return and even Swipe looked pleased. I took everything that the men said as compliments! The other reason – Swipe was no longer a virgin.

Now do not get any ideas that he had managed to 'get off' with somebody – I meant that he had killed his first criminal – two in fact!


	23. First Kill

**_That evening  
>Saturday<em>**

**_New York City_**

We had heard a scream, a block over from where we were walking.

"Let's move!" I said and we turned and ran in the direction of the scream.

As we got closer, we could hear shouting and another scream. Then a gunshot, followed by another scream. We burst out onto the street to see a body lying on the sidewalk. We could see movement beside an alley. We were more cautious with our approach now. Kick-Ass was in the lead, with Swipe behind him while I covered the rear.

Just as we got close to the alley, a woman was shoved out, quite firmly so she stumbled into the street. She was followed by a man holding a pistol. The man never saw it coming, as Kick-Ass brought one of his batons down onto the man's right wrist. The sound of cracking bones could be easily heard and was followed by the man dropping the gun and screaming. There was another man in the alley who tried to run but I ran at him and kicked him hard enough in the back that he went sprawling onto the hard alley floor and smashed his face.

"My boy!" The woman screamed and collapsed beside the prone body on the sidewalk.

Kick-Ass knelt down and checked for a pulse – there was none and he shook his head sadly. The boy was only a year or so younger than Alex and myself.

"You are safe now – I'm sorry about the boy, but these two won't hurt anybody else!" I growled.

..._...

After calling 9-1-1, we relocated the two men to another alley and forced them to kneel on the concrete floor.

I had noticed that Swipe had not said a single word throughout all of this, but had followed my instructions to the letter. Something did not seem right about him, but I did not press it right then.

"You broke my fucking wrist you green fucker!"

"Think yourself lucky, asshole!" Kick-Ass replied angrily.

I watched as Swipe moved in front of the two men and gazed into their eyes. I saw him take hold of the butt of his pistol, but again thought nothing of it.

"You have messed with the wrong people – you'll die for this once I..." The other man with the bloody nose started.

I was about to respond, but was cut off.

"Who says you're getting out of this?" Swipe said, for the first time. His voice was almost a growl and I barely recognised it as coming from his mouth. "You killed a young boy – you don't deserve to live – I am not going to let you kill any more kids, you fucking cunts!"

The next few seconds were a blur, but they ended with two dead men – their brains spread across the alley and Swipe standing there, with his pistol held in both hands and aimed at the ground. He had fired two aimed shots, no more, no less.

* * *

><p>We left the alley quickly.<p>

Again, Swipe never said another word until we were back at the hidden motorcycles. Swipe turned to face me as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Hit Girl. I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't –"

I cut him off.

"You did nothing wrong, kid," I replied, simply and gave him a smile.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Safehouse C<em>**

I thought that I would feel something.

However, there was nothing, maybe pleasure – I had just killed two men without a thought. A single bullet into each head. The blood and brains exploded around the alley. I did not react like the last time that I had seen blood and brains spread before me.

I expected something. I expected to feel remorse. Maybe it was the adrenalin, which was now subsiding in my system. I had also expected Hit Girl to yell at me, but no.

Was I happy about killing those two men? I had no answer to that question.

* * *

><p>I kept a close eye on Alex once we got back to the Safehouse.<p>

He seemed to be in a confused state. He had not said much, since our return. I had watched as he had cleared his pistol and replaced it on the wall. He replaced the two, fired rounds in the magazine and replaced that in the relevant place.

Alex seemed to be on automatic as he removed his suit and then just seemed lost, as he sat down on the couch in just t-shirt and shorts. I knew what he was going through – I had been there myself, many years ago.

"Come on, Alex – get dressed and we can head home," I said kindly.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Two days later<br>Sunday_**

**_The House_**

I was worried about Alex.

He most definitely was not his usual self. He was generally morose and refused to be drawn into conversations. He spent a lot of time in his room, alone. He was not making jokes – which were usually at my expense! I tried provoking reactions from him, but got little more than a weak smile and him usually leaving the room.

Dave had told me that Alex was coping in his own way. Alex seemed to be sleeping; Dave and I had both checked on him during the night. We had both tried to talk to him, but he refused to talk about what had happened in that alley. As a consequence of our not knowing his current mental state, Dave and I had both agreed that he could not go out again, until he was back to normal.

I had one last card to play.

* * *

><p><strong><em>That afternoon<em>**

"Hi guys!"

"Hi Chloe – glad you could come," I replied.

"I'll do what I can," Chloe said and she headed upstairs to see Alex.

I hoped that Alex might open up to Chloe, at least enough so we could find out what was going on in his head. We could then take steps to help him.

* * *

><p>I knocked on the closed door.<p>

There was no response, so I gently eased the door open.

"Alex?" I called, tentatively as I went into the room.

Alex was sitting on his bed staring into nothing. I went and sat next to him. He did not acknowledge my presence, until I rested my hand on his leg.

"What do _you_ want?" Alex asked, pleasantly.

"Mindy and Dave are worried about you – and so am I."

"Why should any of you, give a shit about me?"

"What!" I exclaimed.

"I've let them down, all of you – I shouldn't have killed those men."

"Fucking grow some balls, Alexander!" I said nastily and I finally got a reaction from Alex as he turned and glared at me. "You killed two men who fucking deserved it, from what I heard. Mindy says that you did nothing wrong and she was proud of you."

Alex actually looked surprised by my outburst and what I had said, but did not say anything for two full minutes.

"Still – I don't think I belong here," Alex said sullenly.

"Oh fuck this!" I said and slapped Alex across the face.

Alex looked stunned. There was a lovely handprint on his left check, which was steadily glowing redder.

Then I saw tears in his eyes and they were not stopping.

* * *

><p>Chloe had been upstairs for almost an hour and I was considering going upstairs, but Dave told me to wait.<p>

Finally, I heard footsteps on the stairs and Chloe came into the living room, dragging Alex behind her. I noticed a red mark on his cheek and a shy smile on his face. It looked like Chloe had made some progress. Chloe also looked a little embarrassed. I looked at her with a curious, questioningly expression.

"I took a page from Hit Girl's book," she explained with a grin. "_'If all else fails – use violence'_!"

Dave laughed.

"It obviously worked!" I grinned back.

"Mindy, Dave – I'm sorry for my behaviour; I just had some things to work out – with Chloe's help," Alex said.

"As I said before, Alex. You've done nothing wrong. Nobody ever said killing was easy and your reaction just shows that you're human," I replied.

"She's right, Alex. She may be a foul-mouthed, short assed bitch but she knows what she's talking about – most of the time!" Dave added and he ignored my scowl, but I took it as a compliment anyways.


	24. Vengeance

**_Four days later_**

Things were now _very_ different.

Everything had gone to shit and I deeply regretted it.

Dave was not the guy that he was last week and I was worried that he never would be again. He had put the death of his father behind him, for now and was getting on with his life as the vigilante, Kick-Ass. Now it had all come back to the fore and it had changed Dave.

Irrevocably?

I sincerely hoped not!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Thursday<em>**

We were on a patrol.

Kick-Ass, Swipe and myself, were on foot having left the motorcycles hidden in an alley. We exited an alley and came across a very small crowd of – well, at first I was not really sure. They were wearing costumes and...

"Holy fuck!" Kick-Ass announced angrily. "It's _him_!"

"Who?" I asked a little confused.

I definitely was _not_ ready for Kick-Ass' response!

"_Red Mist!_" Kick-Ass growled.

I felt anger surge up inside of me as I had never felt before. _Red Mist_. That bastard had shot me _three fucking times_, blasted me out of a window and left me for dead. Then I was brought back to reality with a jolt.

..._...

"Can it be?" A voice called incredulously.

All eyes turned to face us and the small crowd parted so that a ninth person was visible. This man had a vicious smirk on his face as he walked towards us.

"Chris D'Amico!" Kick-Ass sneered.

"That is _not_ my name!"

"Red Mist?"

"That was my super_hero_ name – now I am a super_villain_ and my name is _The Mother Fucker_!"

I almost laughed and I saw Chris D'Amico scowl at my expression. Swipe was smirking too, but Kick-Ass; he was flexing his hands in anger! I should have been mad, as well; after all, this was the son of the man, who had killed my Daddy. This man had shot me – _three fucking times_ – I owed him, big time! However, I could not take the guy seriously. He was wearing, well, bondage gear made to look like a supervillain costume!

Kick-Ass did not seem to see the outlandish costume – he just saw the man – the man responsible for the death of my Daddy and…

"So, still hanging about with the purple bitch! She a good lay, eh, Kick-Ass! Bet she enjoys having you up her tight little..."

He stopped speaking as Kick-Ass sprang forward, drawing his batons and went to strike at 'Red Mist', 'The Mother Fucker' – whatever! I moved to provide cover for Kick-Ass, but the masked men in costumes moved to protect D'Amico.

"Hold on there, Kick-Ass!" The Mother Fucker suggested with a smirk. "I have a surprise for _you_..."

..._...

A man came forwards and he was dragging a struggling girl. The girl was bound with rope at her wrists and had tape over her mouth. She looked terrified. Then Kick-Ass gave the scene some meaning.

"Katie!" Kick-Ass exclaimed and the girl started struggling even more at the sound of Kick-Ass' voice.

My God – it was Katie, Dave's former girlfriend. Her family had all been killed and she had gone missing – months ago!

"I know things about you, Kick-Ass! I know how much you care for this girl and I know how much this will hurt you..."

D'Amico produced a large knife and as his minion pulled back on Katie's hair, D'Amico drew the blade across her throat. At first, there was just a thin red line, but the line grew as blood spilled out and her dying body was allowed to fall to the ground.

..._...

Kick-Ass struck out with his baton.

The baton caught one of The Mother Fucker's minions on the forehead and sent him sprawling with blood spewing from the wound. I rapidly drew my pistols and shot two men. Swipe kicked out and put down a cunt coming up behind Kick-Ass.

I looked for Chris D'Amico, but he seemed to have vanished. All that remained was Katie's corpse with a pool of blood surrounding her. I seized Kick-Ass by the arm and hauled him out of the fight.

"It's time to leave!" I called to Swipe.

The Mother Fucker's surviving minions were fleeing and I could hear sirens approaching. We ran four blocks before we stopped in a dark alley to catch our breath. Once I could breathe again, I pulled out my cell.

* * *

><p>We had received reports of gunshots and possible gang violence near the Brooklyn Bridge.<p>

I was just getting into my car to head over there when my cell rang.

"Sergeant Williams!"

"Oh _very_ official!" I immediately recognised Mindy's voice.

"Is the shit down near Brooklyn anything to do with _you_ by any chance?" I asked.

"Funny you should ask!" Mindy replied, and my heart sank, before she went on. "It was Chris D'Amico. He murdered Katie Deauxma, right in front of us! He slit her throat, Marcus, just to get at Kick-Ass!"

I could tell that Mindy was upset and I was appalled by what I was hearing. The D'Amico family were bad news and obviously had no reason to like Kick-Ass or Hit Girl. But to do that with Dave's missing girlfriend. Damn that was cold!

"Thanks for telling me. Are you all okay – including your new pal?"

The momentary silence told me that I had caught Mindy out. I had heard that there were now three of them.

"Yes, all _three_ of us are fine!" Mindy replied and she sounded a little annoyed, too.

"Take care, it sounds like I have a mess to clean up – again!"

* * *

><p>I hung up and looked at Kick-Ass.<p>

He was still seething, but for now we just needed to get back to safety, at home. We returned to the hidden motorcycles and headed back to the safehouse. After securing the motorcycles , we went upstairs and things just went from bad to worse!

Dave refused to talk to Alex _or_ me. He just stripped out of his suit, got dressed and waited for Alex and me to get ourselves ready. I was worried about him; I had never seen Dave like this, ever!

He had stuck by me, when I needed him, so I was going to damn well, stick by him.

He needed me.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The House<em>**

We had just got in and I followed Dave into the living room, intending to talk with him.

Dave had not said a word on the walk back. I went to take hold of his arm, but as I did so he flung me backwards, catching me hard across the cheek and I fell against the couch and then onto the floor.

"Mindy, leave me alone!" Dave said coldly, then turned to Alex. "You too, Alexander."

Dave then left the room and I heard him going upstairs.

Weird emotions swept over me. I had the urge to jump up and go after Dave, then smack him one. I also felt the urge to just sit there and cry. Dave was my first and best friend, yet he had just thrown me off to one side, hurting me in the process. I felt offended, I felt hurt and I felt pain; but not in the physical sense – it was emotional hurt and emotional pain.

"You okay, Mindy?" Alex asked, helping me up.

I sat on the couch and felt tears welling up in my eyes. Alex looked mad and when he saw the tears in my eyes he looked madder.

"Don't get involved Alex. This is just between him and me. He didn't mean anything by what he did – I'm Hit Girl for fuck's sake; I don't break dammit!" I said, but Alex still looked mad. "Go to bed, Alex, we'll see about things once we've all had some sleep."

Alex was not convinced, but he knew when to quit.

"Okay, Mindy – night," He said and headed upstairs.

I just sat on the couch and let the tears fall.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following morning<em>**

**_The House_**

I had hoped that by breakfast things would be back to normal.

Dave never appeared for breakfast and I was wary about going upstairs to find him. But it had to be done; _I_ needed Dave in my life and I believed that _he_ needed me. I went upstairs and knocked on his bedroom door. I heard nothing, so knocked again. I was now getting worried. I pushed open the door.

Dave was sitting on the floor at the end of the bed. He did not acknowledge my presence at all.

"Dave..." I started and he looked up at me, but never said a word.

His eyes were dark and tired. I didn't think that he had slept at all, since the previous night. He looked awful!

"Dave, err, can I sit down beside you?" I asked, somewhat timidly which made me feel rather stupid.

Dave nodded a little, so I sat down next him, on the floor and carefully lent into him. We just sat there, neither of us saying a word. I resisted the urge to put my arm around Dave. I was worried I would be hit again.

Finally, he looked down at me and smiled.

"I'm sorry I hit you, Mindy – I didn't mean to, my mind was all over the place, last night."

"Don't worry about it – I've had worse done to me!" I replied with a smirk. "Besides, I know you didn't mean it and you had some damn good reasons for getting mad. Last night sucked, big time. That bastard did it on purpose to wind you up. I want him dead, just as much as you, Dave and we _will_ get him – no matter what the dick calls himself or dresses like!"

Dave grinned as he replied.

"You are a lovely friend and companion, Mindy Macready. I would never want to be with anybody else."

..._...

I suddenly felt those strange feelings in my stomach again and bit my lower lip to hide my discomfort. I also started to feel very warm about the cheeks, too. Why did Dave make me feel like this?

"Thanks Mindy," Dave said and stood up, leaving me sitting on the floor and feeling stupid.

While Dave vanished into the bathroom, I quickly got myself together and left the room before I embarrassed myself any further!

* * *

><p>"All sorted?" A grinning Alex asked.<p>

"Dave's just taking a shower," I replied, trying to stop my blushes.

"Oh yeah? Surprised that you're not in there with him!"

I felt my mouth drop open in shock.

"I should slap you stupid for that comment, Alexander!"

"Dave loves you, you know," Alex said seriously.

"What!"

"It's pretty obvious really."

"I – I love him too. He's all I have left, just about. But don't you fucking _dare_ tell Dave that!"

"I won't. I promise," Alex said and I could see that he meant it.

"Quiet!" I hissed. Dave was coming downstairs.

"Hi guys," Dave said with a smile. He looked a lot better, too. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Alex; it wasn't fair on you."

"I've had worse Dave; I've been attacked by a naked Hit Girl!" Alex replied, ignoring my glare of death.


	25. Team Building

**_Two days later  
>Sunday<em>**

Dave was still not himself.

However, at least he was talking to Alex, and me, which was something.

Yesterday had not been fun, to put it mildly! Erika and Marty had come over – they had heard about Katie. Erika was in a right state and Marty was very sad for Dave.

Dave spoke with Erika for quite a while trying to calm her down, but eventually he gave up. We explained to Marty everything that had happened on Thursday night and we all agreed that it might not be a very good idea to let Erika know the exact method of death.

* * *

><p>I was spending as much time as possible with Dave.<p>

Alex was keeping out of the way, by choice, as he thought that would help. I didn't mind, but Chloe insisted on coming over to spend time with Alex – not that she needed much persuading! I had no idea what was going on in his room, all you could hear was Chloe squealing and giggling!

Dave was determined to go after Chris D'Amico. I was trying to find arguments against going after Chris. However, I failed to come up with any good ones. I didn't want Dave to get hurt, so we needed a plan, which in turn needed good intelligence.

"Dave, we are not rushing into this. I did that once and look where that got me!" I said.

"I won't rush into anything, Mindy. I promise," Dave replied, smiling for the first time that day.

"We will avenge Katie, don't you worry. I want Chris' head, as much as you do."

"I know you do; we'll share his head – once we get our hands on it!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>That evening<em>**

"You evil fucking bitch – I hope you rot in hell!"

"Did that hurt, little Alex?" Mindy said with a laugh.

"Yes, it fucking did!"

"You said you wanted to help!" I reminded the boy as he lay on the mat grimacing with pain.

Alex was holding his thigh, which Mindy had just kicked, very hard.

"I don't think I'm ever going to walk again!" Alex groaned.

"Think yourself lucky; I might have hit you a few inches to the right and bye, bye, sex life!" Mindy said with a chuckle.

"What fucking sex life?" Alex moaned. "It's about as active as yours!"

I saw Mindy blush and turn away from me. I smirked at Alex who was just picking himself up off the mat. A few seconds later, Alex yelled out again, as Mindy kicked him back down.

"No talking about my goddamn sex life, or any parts of my anatomy that are remotely related to sex!" Mindy growled.

Alex groaned with the pain.

"Can I talk about your mouth?" Alex quipped through clenched teeth.

"Of course, my mouth has nothing to do with..." Mindy paused, her eyes went wide and she went red before continuing. "You fucking asshole, I'm gonna rip your fucking balls off!"

"Okay Mindy – Alex's mutilation or even death, while entertaining, will not help anybody!" I cautioned, with a smirk and received a sharp punch in my side from the smirking Mindy.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Three days later<br>Wednesday_**

"Kick-Ass, behind you!"

I turned to see a large axe coming towards my head. I swung myself out of the way and drove a baton into the man's face. Blood exploded from his broken nose and he collapsed to the ground. I nodded a thank you to Swipe and moved through the mass of bodies.

Swipe was holding his own and was just driving his armoured knee into another cunt's face. He seemed to be enjoying himself, too! I seized another cunt and threw him against the wall of the nearby building. I stepped over the fallen body and headed towards the purple tornado that was scything through the majority of cunts.

She seemed to be having the time of her young life and I really could not think of anything that would have made her happier! The pile of unconscious and dead cunts, around her, was growing by the minute. I saw a cunt draw a pistol and aim it at Hit Girl's head – I blew his own head off, with my Glock.

"Hey, cunt! That is cheating!" I yelled at the now headless, cunt.

My gunshot seemed to send a ripple of concern, through the cunts, who started to break up and slip away. Finally, Hit Girl was left standing on her own, surrounded by prone bodies.

"You finished?" I asked.

"I'm fucking wiped out – that was tiring!" Hit Girl replied with a smile.

We had come out on patrol, hoping to encourage Chris D'Amico into a fight, but instead we had came across almost a dozen of his minions. They had been planning to cause trouble, but we had put them all down.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The House<em>**

Mindy was buzzing with excitement.

I hadn't seen her like this in ages. She was grinning from ear to ear. I had to admit that even Alex seemed pleased with the night's activities. He was no longer hesitant when it came to attacking criminals. Maybe, it had been the death of Katie, which had kicked him up a gear – either way; I was very pleased to have him with us.

Being a team just felt great and I knew we could avenge my Dad and Katie.

* * *

><p>That had been the best night out ever!<p>

I had never felt so alive – the adrenalin surging through my veins had heightened my senses and Mindy's training guided my actions. I was kicking the shit out of those men, with skills that she had taught me. The suit had protected me from anything worse than bruises and I had a lot of them!

Mindy seemed to have enjoyed herself. It was amazing, watching this little girl diving in amongst men twice her age and size.

Yet they fell like bowling pins to a bowling ball.

* * *

><p>I was certain that Dave and Alex thought I was completely out of control!<p>

The fight had invigorated me – it had felt like when I was with Daddy. Fighting as a tight-knit team, made such a difference to everything. Now the adrenalin was wearing off, I could feel the bruises on my arms, legs and upper body.

It had been a success – our little team of vigilantes – it had worked!

* * *

><p><strong><em>The following morning<br>Thursday_**

I could barely move!

"Regretting being so violent?" Dave asked with a smirk.

I groaned and threw back the duvet. I stared down at my legs and arms.

"If Child Services saw me now, they'd be certain I was being abused!"

Dave just shook his head and laughed at me. Asshole!

..._...

I pushed open Alex's door to find him draped across his bed, on his front, still asleep. I smirked and went over to the bed and started shaking him.

"Time to get up!" I yelled.

"You are a cruel bitch!" Dave commented, peering in.

Alex was moaning, but he finally opened his eyes and turned over.

"Bugger off, Mindy!"

"Good morning to you, too, brat!" I responded.

"Okay, okay – I'm getting up. Fucking yank, bitch!"

* * *

><p>After Mindy had wound up Alex, she went to get a shower.<p>

I went downstairs to start cooking some breakfast. I had only been down there a few minutes when I heard a loud and piercing scream. It was a girl's scream! I ran upstairs and stopped outside the bathroom.

Alex was almost pissing himself laughing and was sitting on the floor. Mindy was standing in the doorway, holding a towel over her body.

"That fucking little bastard turned the fucking hot water off!" Mindy growled.

I tried not to laugh, but failed and gave Mindy an apologetic look before I started laughing non-stop. Mindy looked mad!

"I'm sorry Mindy – I had to get you back for waking me up – it was harmless, but damn funny!" Alex said, before collapsing with laughter.

"Oh ha, fucking ha! Immature little twats!" Mindy growled and pushed past us both.

Once Mindy had gone into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her, I turned to Alex.

"She'll make you pay for that, Alexander!" I cautioned. "Damn good job, though!"

* * *

><p>Those two assholes needed to learn some fucking respect.<p>

Who the fuck did they think they were messing with?

I will make them pay – big time!

Oh grow up, Mindy; it was just some cold water, for fuck's sake!

It was funny, though and as Alex said – it _was_ harmless.

I calmed myself down before I did anything that I would regret – or worse, humiliated myself in front of Dave!


End file.
